Court concludes pre-summoning evidence in Jaitley's complaint

The recording of pre-summoning evidence in a defamation case filed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and five other AAP leaders was today 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 today, Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sanjay Khanagwal fixed the hearing for February 15 for arguments on the point of summoning 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 Jaitley for today 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 Bangalore.

During the hearing, three witnesses -- lawyer Ved Prakash Sharma, treasurer of Delhi District and Cricket Association (DDCA), Ravinder Manchanda, and Registrar of Companies' (RoC) deputy registrar Rajneesh Kumar Singh recorded their statements before the court.
Sharma, who is also a member of Bar Council of India, said he knew Jaitley since past four decades and knew him as a sports lover and an honest man with impeccable integrity.

He further said that after seeing the reports in media about the allegations made by Kejriwal and other Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders against Jaitley that money was siphoned off during his tenure as DDCA president, he was shocked and upset.

Manchanda, who brought all DDCA records regarding the renovation of Ferozshah Kotla stadium here, also said that all decisions taken were duly approved by members of Annual General Meeting (AGM) 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.
(Reopens LGD17)
On January 5, Jaitley had appeared in the court and said that Kejriwal and five other AAP leaders have made "false and defamatory" statements and had rejected the charge that he had siphoned out money from DDCA for his own benefit.

He had recorded his deposition in the case and accused them of making statements damaging his reputation even after the complaint was filed against them and that their statements against him and his family members lowered his dignity in the eyes of the public at large.
He had referred to Twitter and Facebook posts of Kejriwal, Kumar Vishwas, Ashutosh, Sanjay Singh, Raghav Chadha and Deepak Bajpai and accused them of making statements that had damaged his reputation even after the defamation complaint was filed by him.
Jaitley had said Kejriwal's statement that he received money when the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium was constructed during his tenure as the DDCA Chief, was false as the Board of Directors had constituted a committee to supervise the work and he was not a member of the supervisory committee.

The court had earlier also recorded the statement of senior journalist Rajat Sharma, who has appeared as a witness for Jaitley saying he was acquainted with him for over four decades and could vouch for his integrity and character.
Jaitley had on December 21, 2015 filed a criminal defamation case against Kejriwal and five other AAP leaders for allegedly defaming him and sought their prosecution for offences that entail a punishment of upto two years in jail.