New Delhi:
Defamation cases filed against Arvind Kejriwal by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will not be dropped, the Supreme Court said today, rejecting the Delhi Chief Minister's request.
"The Supreme Court must protect the Chief Minister of a state," argued Mr Kejriwal's lawyer Ram Jethmalani. The court replied: "We are not supposed to see anything beyond records."
Mr Jaitley has filed civil and criminal defamation cases against Mr Kejriwal and five others of the Aam Aadmi Party for accusing him of corruption linked to Delhi's cricket body DDCA, which he headed for 13 years till 2013.
"Can't a public person question a politician?" Mr Jethmalani questioned.
The senior lawyer also argued that both a civil and criminal case on the same subject cannot go on together.
The Supreme Court said it found no merit in Mr Kejriwal's petition.
Mr Kejriwal and AAP had accused Mr Jaitley of benefiting from corruption in the DDCA. They made the allegation after CBI raids on the Chief Minister's office last year, which, Mr Kejriwal said, was a cover-up attempt.
Mr Jaitley has alleged that Mr Kejriwal made false allegations for "political mileage, causing irreversible damage to him."
In the civil suit, he asked for Rs 10 crore in damages.