Sonepat court issues notice to Kejriwal

Asks ex-Delhi CM to appear in person before the court on Feb 17, the next date of hearing, if he had any contentions in the matter

- Pawan Sharma

CHANDIGARH: A Sonepat court on Wednesday issued a notice to Arvind Kejriwal and fixed February 17 as the next date of hearing after the Haryana government filed a complaint against the former Delhi chief minister, who accused Haryana of supplying "poisoned" water through the Yamuna.

While issuing notice to Arvind Kejriwal, the chief judicial magistrate (CJM), Sonepat, directed him to appear in person before the court on the next date of hearing, if he had any contentions in the matter. "If he does not appear before this court on next date of hearing, it is deemed that he has nothing to say in the matter and further proceedings shall be conducted in accordance with law," the CJM said in the order.

The complaint against Kejriwal was filed by Ashish Kaushik, an executive engineer employed with the water services division of Sonepat, on behalf of the Haryana State Disaster Management Authority. In the complaint, filed under the Disaster Management Act, the Haryana government accused Kejriwal making "wild and vile" allegations.

In the 26-page complaint, the government has pleaded to prosecute Kejriwal under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, for the offences under Section 54 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, and Sections 353 and 356 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

"The Haryana government has filed the case under the Disaster Management Act before a court in Sonepat against former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal who had accused the state government of supplying "poisoned" Yamuna water to the national capital," Haryana's revenue and disaster management minister Vipul Goel said.

Dubbing Kejriwal's statement as "absurd and misleading" Goel said that the Election Commission should take strict cognizance of such baseless statements. He said Kejriwal was spreading fear not only among Delhi's people but also among citizens of Haryana with his false claims.