The Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued notices to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and five other members of the Aam Aadmi Party, after hearing the defamation suit filed against them by finance minister Arun Jailtey. The court has directed the AAP leaders to file a reply to the notice within three weeks and has scheduled the next hearing in the case for January 5.

The Delhi chief minister alleged last week that that Jaitley was involved in financial malpractices during his time as the head of the Delhi & District Cricket Association. Jaitley had sought Rs 10 crore in damages, claiming that the statements made by the AAP leaders have caused “irreversible damage” to his reputation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday came out in support of Jaitley. Union minister Venkaiah Naidu quoted Modi as having said that Jaitley will come through "with flying colours". The prime minister also hit out at the Congress during the BJP's parliamentary party meeting for levelling "wrong and manufactured" allegations to defame the government, Naidu added.