New Delhi: Senior Counsel Ram Jethmalani has claimed, the Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal had indeed instructed him to use derogatory words against finance minister Arun Jaitley.
“When Arun Jaitley filed the first suit and criminal case, you naturally sought my services. Ask your conscience how many times you used worse abuses than a mere ‘crook’. You have hundred times asked me to teach this crook a lesson,” the lawyer said in a letter written to Kejriwal on July 20, a copy of which was uploaded on his blog.
While the Chief Minister told the Delhi High Court that he had not asked Jethmalani to use objectionable words against Jaitley, reports TOI.
In his July 20 letter to Kejriwal, Jethmalani had written: “You have hundred times asked me to teach this ‘……’ a lesson. Incidentally, for the last couple of weeks, you only met me briefly. However, your assistant Raghav Chadha and advocate Anupam Srivastava have been briefing me in the matter. Of course, the law is settled that no suit for damages lies against parties and lawyers even if the suggestion made only in court judicial proceedings proves to be false or malicious.”
However, Kejriwal defied this claim in an affidavit he filed with Delhi HC as well in a letter he wrote to Jethmalani. In his affidavit, Kejriwal said it was “inconceivable that he would even think of instructing the senior counsel to use such objectionable words”.
Read More: Didn’t instruct Jethmalani to use objectionable words against Jaitley-Kejriwal
The affidavit emphasized, “Neither the defendant (Kejriwal) nor the counsel (Anupam Srivastava) briefing the senior counsel (Jethmalani) directed the senior counsel to use the objectionable words on May 17, 2017.”
However, in his fresh letter, Jethmalani said, “But please do not misunderstand, I am not advising you to continue the fight. If you think Jaitley will withdraw the suit on seeing this letter to me (sic), do by any means settle with him. I will take the consequences. One thing is certain, I will not now appear in any matter for your defence, only pay the settled fees+ for first matter and nothing for the second.”
However, the centre refused to comment on the matter.