Arrest warrant issued against Arvind Kejriwal in PM Narendra Modi defamation case

New Delhi: An Assam court on Tuesday issued a bailable warrant against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for skipping appearance on Monday in a defamation case over his tweet on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's degree last year.

Kejriwal, who is also facing a defamation case filed by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, had urged the court in Diphu to excuse him from appearance citing the April 23 Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Elections.

His lawyer had said that the Aam Aadmi Party leader "cannot leave Delhi to attend the court hearing because of the civic election and the nature of his work because he is Chief Minister of Delhi".

The judge, however, dismissed the request, noting that Kejriwal had failed to appear once before on January 30. Justice Naba Kumar Deka Barua issued the bailable warrant of Rs 10,000.

On December 15, the Delhi CM had tweeted: “Modiji 12 pass hain. Uske baad ki degree farzi hai.”

This had led Bharatiya Janata Party leader and executive member of the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council Surjya Rongphar to file a defamation case against him. The Delhi CM was later booked under Sections 499, 500 and 501 of the Indian Penal Code.

 

“We have seen the petition submitted by Gurpreet Singh Uppal showing the ground that it is not possible for the accused, namely Arvind Kejriwal, to leave Delhi due to the municipality election in Delhi,” Justice Naba Kumar Deka Barua of Diphu Court said in the order.

“On perusal of the record, it reveals that the accused has not appeared before this court on the earlier occasion on 30/1/2017 too, availing adjournment of more than two months. Considering this, the petition of Gurpreet Singh Uppal is rejected and a bailable warrant of arrest of Rs.10,000 has been issued against the said accused. Complainant to take step. The next date for appearance is fixed on May 8, 2017,” the order read.

The court will hear the case again on May 8, requiring Kejriwal to personally appear in the court.