A Delhi court on Wednesday summoned Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and five other AAP leaders as accused in a criminal defamation case filed by Jaitley. The court found that the allegations levelled by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and five other AAP leaders against Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley as “not only insulting but jeeringly taunting and provocative”.

The court has directed Kejriwal and AAP leaders Ashutosh, Sanjay Singh, Kumar Vishwas, Raghav Chadha and Deepak Bajpai to appear before him on April 7, Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Sumit Dass said that the “freedom of speech and expression is not an absolute right” but “one that is hedged with reasonable restrictions, with the law of defamation being the primary one”.

“The language of public discourse ought to be within the confines of decency. If it transgresses those limits and becomes insulting, offensive and laced with innuendos, same may amount to defamation and become actionable at the end of the person aggrieved,” CMM Dass said.

The CMM said that the “Reputation of a man is his greatest asset. It takes years to build one’s reputation. No one knows or realises this fact much better than people who hold public office or aspire for the same… The allegations are not only insulting but jeeringly taunting and provocative. I have no hesitation to hold that the allegations levelled by the accused are derogatory in nature and amount to slander and libel.”

By Premji