Kejriwal has drawn flak from within the party and outside for his step, but AAP leaders say it is a strategy by the legal team to shed court cases.
New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has written to Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari expressing regret over certain statements he made against the BJP leader. Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia also tendered an apology to senior advocate Amit Sibal, son of former union minster Kapil Sibal, in a criminal defamation case filed by him.
Kejriwal and Gadkari submitted a joint application today before the court seeking withdrawal of the defamation case filed against the AAP leader by Gadkari.
The application was moved before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal after Kejriwal’s counsel submitted the letter in which the AAP leader has expressed regret for making statements without regard to their verifiability.
“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,” the letter written on 16 March said.
Gadkari had moved the court against Kejriwal for allegedly defaming him by including his name in the Aam Aadmi Party’s list of “India’s most corrupt”.
Kejriwal had earlier tendered an apology to Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia for having levelled unfounded allegations related to involvement in drugs trade against him, following which the latter too decided to withdraw the court case against him.
Sibal also withdraws case
Kejriwal and Sisodia apologised for making “unfounded allegations” against Sibal in a letter which was submitted before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal.
Sibal and the AAP leaders also filed a joint application in the court seeking withdrawal of the case filed in 2013.
The court then posted the matter for further hearing on April 6 when it will consider the joint application for disposing off the case amicably in view of the written apology.
Besides Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, complainant Amit Sibal had also named former AAP members Prashant Bhushan and Shazia Ilmi as accused in the case.
The lower court on September 20, 2014, had put all the four accused on trial for the charge under section 500 (defamation) of the IPC.
Kejriwal has drawn flak from within the party and outside for his step, but AAP leaders say it is a strategy by the legal team to shed court cases, in which the party convenor is mired.