Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today tendered written unconditional apologies to Union minister and BJP leader Nitin Gadkari and advocate Amit Sibal, son of Congress leader Kapil Sibal, in two separate criminal defamation cases after which he was acquitted by a city court.
The latest regret by the Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) chief comes just days after he offered an apology to Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia in connection with comments over his alleged involvement in the drug trade. The apology to Majithia, a former Punjab revenue minister, had drawn flak from his own party members in Punjab.
Kejriwal, in his two separate apology letters, said he regretted making the defamatory remarks without any verification and accepted that they were based on "unfounded allegations".
Kapil Sibal told reporters that Kejriwal's apology has been accepted, adding, "we don't want to fight with anyone".
Senior advocate Pinky Anand, who appeared for Gadkari, struck a similar note and said Kejriwal closing the issue was in the "larger interest of the nation" but asserted he must understand that defamation is a very strong offence. "He should be careful in future".
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, a co-accused with Kejriwal in the defamation case lodged by Amit Sibal, also tendered a written apology with the joint plea before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Samar Vishal.
The ACMM considered the apology and joint plea of Sisodia and Amit Sibal and ordered the closure of the case in which Kejriwal was also a party.
However, the proceedings against lawyer and expelled AAP leader Prashant Bhushan and BJP leader Shazia Ilmi will continue in the defamation case lodged by Amit Sibal as they have not followed the suit so far.
In the 2013 case lodged by Amit Sibal it was alleged that Kejriwal, Sisodia, Bhushan and Ilmi, who was then an AAP member, had targeted him and his father Kapil Sibal, the then Telecom Minister, over the Vodafone tax revision case and had allegedly raised the bogey of conflict of interest
In the defamation case filed by Gadkari, it was alleged that Kejriwal had called him "India's most corrupt".
On a day of fast paced developments in the court, the apologies by Kejriwal were followed by two joint applications in the separate cases seeking judicial indulgence for their amicable settlement.
In separate orders passed after they tendered the magisterial court acquitted Kejriwal and Sisodia of the charges under section 500 (defamation) of the IPC.
"In view of the joint application accompanied by a letter of regret and the statements of counsel for both the parties, the defamation case filed by Nitin Gadkari against Arvind Kejriwal stands compounded and Arvind Kejriwal stands acquitted from the present case," the ACMM said in the order passed in the case lodged by the BJP leader.
Similarly, in the defamation case lodged by Amit Sibal, the court acquitted Kejriwal and Sisodia of the offence after the complainant advocate accepted their apology and agreed to withdraw the case.
In his letter to Gadkari, Kejriwal said, "I made certain statements, without regard to its verifiability, which seem to have hurt you and therefore you have filed a defamation case against me. 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. I suggest we should put our energy to serve the people of this country in the spirit of mutual respect, " he said.
In their identical letters to Amit Sibal, Kejriwal and Sisodia apologised to him and said, "I have learnt that the allegations I made against you and your father at the press conference were unfounded. I hereby withdraw all my statements and allegations made against you and your father and apologise for the same."
Facing flak for apologising to leaders of rival parties who had filed defamation suits against him and other AAP leaders, Sisodia said they are not interested in any "ego fight" and don't want to spend time in legal wrangling but want to focus only in the service of people.
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