AAP delaying outcome in defamation suit: Arun Jaitley

New Delhi: Union finance minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday told the Delhi high court that he has been cross-examined “eight times” by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s counsel.

He did not ask any question frelated to the alleged defamatory remarks, for which he had filed a libel suit against the AAP leaders, Mr Jaitley added.

Instead of asking questions relating to the allegations, Mr Kejriwal’s counsel went “all around the world”, he said. “There were two defamatory imputations made and eight hearings have already been called and not a single question asked and you are going all around the world. This is when the question of relevancy comes,” Mr Jaitley told the Delhi high court’s joint registrar Rakesh Pandit.

He said this at the end of the over one-and-a half hour long hearing in the Rs 10 crore civil defamation suit filed against Mr Kejriwal and five AAP leaders for accusing him of financial irregularities in Delhi and District Cricket Association of when he was the chief from 1999 to 2013.

Senior advocates Rajiv Nayyar and Sandeep Sethi and advocate Manik Dogra, representing Mr Jaitley, alleged that the AAP leaders wanted to prolong the litigation and so have not yet concluded the cross-examination after eight hearings.

Senior counsel Anoop George Chaudhari and advocate Anupam Srivastav, appearing for Mr Kejriwal, said they would take some more time to cross-examine the Mr Jaitley.  The court listed the matter for further hearing on Nov. 30, when Mr Jaitley’s cross-examination would continue.

Mr Jaitley was present in the court for the eighth round of cross-examination in the defamation suit.