FM suit: Court fines Kejri Rs 5K for late reply

The Delhi High court on Monday slapped a fine of Rs 5,000 on Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for delay in filing a reply on a second Rs 10-crore defamation suit filed by Union Minister Arun Jaitley.

It was after Jaitley’s counsel Manik Dogra said that the AAP chief’s written statement to the suit was filed beyond the time limit of two weeks set by the court on July 26.

This was the second time the CM has been fined in the case. Earlier on July 26, a fine of Rs 10,000 was imposed on him for the same reason.

The second suit was filed by Jaitley against an objectionable word used by the CM’s then lawyer Ram Jethmalani.

The previous case was brought by the Jaitley against the CM and five other AAP leaders in December 2015. The six had accused the BJP leader of corruption during his tenure as Delhi & District Cricket Association President, a post he held from 2000 to 2013.