In a blow to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed his plea questioning the decision of a judge to expedite hearing of a defamation suit filed against him by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
‘Appeal misconceived’
A Bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C. Hari Shankar said the appeals filed by Mr. Kejriwal and AAP leader Ashutosh against the July 26 decision of a single judge was “misconceived” and “devoid of merit”.
It said speedy trial was the “need of the hour”.
“Indeed, the principle that every litigating party in a case, as well as every witness in a trial, civil or criminal, in court, is entitled to be treated with regard and respect, and not subjected to insults, insinuation, and injury, is a proposition so elementary as to obviate the necessity of reference to any further judicial authority in its support,” the Bench said.
“In view of the above, we dismiss these appeals,” the Bench added.