Court acquits Arvind Kejriwal, others in Arun Jaitley's criminal defamation case

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Tuesday acquitted Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and four others in a criminal defamation case filed by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley after considering the joint application filed by them to settle the matter.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal considered the joint application which was filed after the AAP convenor apologised to the BJP leader for making defamatory remarks relating to the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) row. 

According to the joint application, apart from Kejriwal, other AAP leaders -- Raghav Chadha, Sanjay Singh, Ashutosh and Deepak Bajpai -- have apologised for their statements against Jaitley in connection with alleged irregularities in the DDCA.

Jaitley had on August 5 last year accused Kejriwal and other AAP leaders -- Kumar Viswas, Singh, Chadha, Ashutosh and Bajpai -- of making a series of "false, scandalous and defamatory" allegations against him, claiming it adversely affected his reputation.

Vishwas has not tendered an apology and hence, the proceedings against him shall continue.

The AAP leaders had alleged financial irregularities in the DDCA when Jaitley was its president from 2000 to 2013, prompting the minister to lodge a defamation case against them while denying all the allegations.