Arvind Kejriwal says sorry to Jaitley but Kumar Vishwas won't; top updates

Arun Jaitley, Arvind Kejriwal have settled two defamation litigations after the AAP convenor apologised, according to PTI

However, news agency ANI has reported that the defamation suit by Jaitley is not being withdrawn. 

Kejriwal's apology to former Punjab minister Bikram Singh Majithia in March triggered an upheaval in the Punjab state unit as AAP's president and co-president for the state Bhagwant Mann and Aman Arora resigned from their posts.

It was the beginning of a slew of apologies in dozens of defamation cases that Kejriwal and other AAP leaders are embroiled in.

Here are top developments in Kejriwal's defamation cases:

1. Road to the settlement: Union Minister Arun Jaitley and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today moved joint pleas before the Delhi High Court and the trial court to "settle" their over two-year long litigation regarding alleged defamatory statements made against the BJP leader after the AAP supremo apologised for his remarks

2. Apology accepted: The unconditional apology by the chief of Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) and others has been accepted by the union finance minister, according to the lawyers of the two leaders.

3: Kumar Vishwas won't apologise: AAP leader Kumar Vishwas will not apologise to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, his close aide said on Monday, even as his party colleagues expressed regret for their comments against the BJP leader. 

Vishwas did not move any plea to settle the litigation. So, the defamation case against him will continue.

"He (Vishwas) will not apologise and pursue the cases that have been filed against him," his aide Prabudh Kumar said.

After Kejriwal started issuing apologies for the remarks made by him against his political opponents last month, Vishwas had said that he would contest the defamation cases filed against him.

4. Kejriwal and company apologise to Jaitley: Besides Arvind Kejriwal, AAP leaders Sanjay Singh, Ashutosh and Raghav Chadha too wrote similar letters to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to apologise for their defamatory statements.

5. Misinformed allegations

The letters conceded that the allegations they made against Jaitley were based on ''unwarranted and unfounded'' information. They claimed that certain people having first-hand insight into the workings of the DDCA had convinced them such that they made 'misinformed allegations'.

6. Don't approve of Ram Jethmalani's statement

Interestingly, Kejriwal washed his hands off the statements that senior advocate Ram Jethmalani had made against Jaitley while representing the Delhi Chief Minister in the case. Kejriwal writes that he did not approve of the 'disparaging' and 'malicious' statements made by Jethmalani and they weren't made on his behalf.

7. Sorry to your family members

Kejriwal's letter stated that he is sorry if his allegations hurt his family members. He said that he 'unequivocally' withdraws all allegations made on electronic and print media.

8. Let's serve the country's people

Ending the letter on a sentimental note, Kejriwal appealed that the Jaitley should stop the ''unsavoury litigations'' and "serve the country to the best of our abilities''. 

9. Apology to Majithia was the first of many

Kejriwal on March 13 issued an apology to Majithia for having levelled "unfounded" allegations related to drugs trade, saying that now he has learnt that the drug trade allegations were unfounded.

"In the recent past I made certain statements and allegations against you regarding your alleged involvement in drug trade. These statements became a political issue. Now, I've learnt that allegations are unfounded. Hence, there should be no politics on such issues," Kejriwal said in a statement.

10. Apologies to Sibal, Gadkari

Kejriwal and Deputy CM Manish Sisodia wrote to Kapil Sibal and his son Amit, seeking apology for making "unfounded" allegation against them at a joint press conference on May 15, 2013. In identical letters, they wrote, ''I have nothing personal against you. I regret the same. Let us put the incident behind us and bring the court proceedings to a closure. Now, I have learnt that the allegation I made against you and your father at the press conference were unfounded. I hereby withdraw all my allegations made against you and your father and apologize for the same."

In a March 16 letter to Gadkari, Kejriwal said he was feeling sorry for making "certain statements, without regard to its verifiability, which seem to have hurt you."

AAP leaders miffed by apology

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's apology to a SAD leader for accusing him of drugs trade pushed the party's Punjab unit into a crisis as the state leadership contemplated breaking away and forming a separate unit, saying the "meek surrender" was painful and very unfortunate.

Kejriwal's apology to former Punjab minister Bikram Singh Majithia triggered an upheaval in the state unit as AAP's Punjab unit president and co-president Bhagwant Mann and Aman Arora resigned their posts.

 Apology part of AAP's legal strategy: 

While the party's Punjab leaders spoke out against the move, AAP's Delhi unit said that Kejriwal was facing dozens of criminal and civil cases related to defamation, violation of Section 144, putting hoardings and posters up during election campaigns, and public protests, among other things, in Delhi and other parts of India like Varanasi, Amethi, Punjab, Assam, Maharashtra, and Goa.

Saurabh Bharadwaj, the spokesperson of AAP's Delhi unit, explained the rationale behind the move. Bharadwaj said that AAP leaders were facing cases "foisted by our political rivals to de-motivate us and keep our leadership busy in these legal matters". He added that most of these cases required personal appearance in court and that the decision to "amicably sort out" all such legal cases was a strategy "devised by the legal team of the party".

 Kumar Vishwas' poetic dig at Arvind Kejriwal

Senior AAP leader Kumar Vishwas launched a veiled attack on Kejriwal over his apologies to Majithia, Sibal and Gadkari.

"Expert in dividing unity, expert at chopping off his own roots, why spit on the person who is himself ready to spit and take it back," Vishwas said in a tweet in Hindi.