Reprieve for Kejriwal in defamation case before trial

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Thursday issued notice to Rajya Sabha MP Subhash Chandra and the Delhi Police seeking their responses on Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's plea to quash a criminal defamation complaint filed by the BJP leader.

A bench of Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal also exempted Kejriwal from personal appearance before a trial court on December 11 in the case.

The court was not inclined to stay the proceedings before the trial court and listed the matter for further hearing on January 22.

Kejriwal had sought stay on the summons issued to him by the trial court on March 4.

Chandra had on November 17 last year sought the prosecution of the Delhi chief minister for allegedly defaming him by levelling false allegations in the wake of demonetisation.

Senior advocate Sanjay Hegde and advocate Rishikesh Kumar, appearing for the Chief Minister, sought quashing of summons and the complaint filed before the trial court, on the ground that Chandra himself has not stepped into the witness box to prove his case.

The counsel also submitted that Chandra was a Member of Parliament, who stayed in Delhi, and he should have personally stepped into the witness box to prove his defamation case like other Union Ministers have done in the past.

"If the trial court admits such proxy complaints which have been filed through power of attorney, it would allow others also file such frivolous complaints in future," Hegde submitted.

To this, the bench observed that the trial court had passed a detailed order with regard to the summoning of Chief Minister as an accused in the case.