DDCA case: Court concludes pre-summoning evidence

The recording of pre-summoning evidence in a defamation case filed by Union finance minister Arun Jaitley against chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and five other AAP leaders was concluded by the Delhi court, which fixed the matter for arguments on February 15.

After the court concluded recording of evidence of three complainant witnesses, chief metropolitan magistrate Sanjay Khanagwal fixed the hearing for February 15 for arguments on the point of summoning Mr Kejriwal and five others in the case.

“Recording of pre-summoning evidence concluded. Put up for arguments on the point of summoning on February 15,” the court said.

The court also granted exemption from personal appearance to Mr Jaitley only and allowed his plea filed through senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, who said the senior BJP leader could not attend the hearing as he was busy in a meeting in Bengaluru.

During the hearing, three witnesses — lawyer Ved Prakash Sharma, treasurer of the DDCA, Ravinder Manchanda, and registrar of companies’ (RoC) deputy registrar Rajneesh Kumar Singh recorded their statements before the court.

Mr Sharma, who is also a member of Bar Council of India, said he knew Mr Jaitley since past four decades and knew him as a sports lover and an honest man with impeccable integrity.

He said that after seeing the reports in media about the allegations made by Mr Kejriwal and other AAP leaders against Mr Jaitley that money was siphoned off during his tenure as the DDCA president, he was shocked and upset. Mr Manchanda, who brought all the DDCA records regarding the renovation of the Ferozshah Kotla Stadium here, also said that all decisions taken were duly approved by members of annual general meeting and other board members.

The deputy registrar of ROC produced documents relating to M/s 21st Century Media Pvt. Ltd. to show that none of the family members of Jaitley were associated with the company.

In his complaint, Mr Jaitley had alleged that Mr Kejriwal and others have made defamatory statements that he and his family members have made pecuniary gains by associating with M/s 21st Century Media Pvt. Ltd. which is a sports management company.

On January 5, Mr Jaitley had appeared in the court and said that Mr Kejriwal and five other AAP leaders have made “false and defamatory” statements and had rejected the charge that he had siphoned out money from the DDCA for his own benefit.