Court to cops: File FIR against Kejriwal for illegal billboards

The case against former CM

- Arnabjit Sur

NEW DELHI: The Rouse Avenue court on Tuesday directed the Delhi Police to register a first information report (FIR) against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal and two others for allegedly defacing public property by putting up political hoardings in Dwarka in 2019.

The court held that Kejriwal, along with former AAP legislator Gulab Singh Yadav and former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillor Nitika Sharma, had committed a cognisable offence under section 3 of the Delhi Prevention of Defacement of Property (DPDP) Act, 2007, which deals with mischief causing damage to public property. Under this Act, a convicted individual can face imprisonment of up to one year, along with a fine.

Responding to the development, the AAP in a statement said that it is "strange that the media is only highlighting the case against Arvind Kejriwal".

Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva, meanwhile, said the court's order "has validated the BJP's allegations of public fund loot against Kejriwal and the AAP."