Senior advocate Ram Jethmalani has quit as Arvind Kejrwal’s counsel in civil and criminal defamation cases, The Times of India reported on Wednesday. In a letter to Kejriwal, Jethmalani has also asked that his legal fees, which are more than Rs 2 crore, be settled. “I am not going to divulge the details of the letters,” Jethmalani told the daily.
His made the decision after Kejriwal on Tuesday denied asking the lawyer to use derogatory words against Union minister Arun Jaitley, who had filed a defamation case against the Delhi chief minister. In his affidavit, Kejriwal said it was “inconceivable that he would even think of instructing the senior counsel to use such objectionable words.”
On May 18, Jethmalani had called the finance minister a “crook” in court, after which Jaitley filed a fresh Rs 10-crore suit against Kejriwal.
The 2015 case is related to Kejriwal’s claims that Jaitley had misused funds and his position while he was the president of the Delhi and District Cricket Association. Jaitley had filed a civil and criminal defamation case against Kejriwal and a few other Aam Aadmi Party leaders in 2016. He has also sought Rs 10 crore in damages.
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