Former Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal was sent to judicial custody by a Delhi court on Wednesday after he refused to pay bail in a defamation case filed by former BJP President Nitin Gadkari. He will remain in Tihar Jail until May 23, the next date of hearing.

Gadkari, who has just won a Lok Sabha seat from Nagpur, had filed the case against Kejriwal for naming him in a list of “the most corrupt” people in the country. Agencies reported that Kejriwal argued before the Metropolitan Magistrate that he had not committed any heinous crime, adding that he would not furnish a bail bond.

‘Done nothing wrong’ “This is my principle, that when I have not done anything wrong, I will not seek bail. I am ready to go to jail,” he said. This prompted Magistrate Gomati Manocha to rule that “…as the accused has refused to furnish bail bond or even personal bond without surety, this court is constrained to take the accused into custody.”

While Kejriwal’s arrest pepped up AAP’s volunteers, who were demoralised by the party’s poor showing in the polls, critics struck back terming the episode as another burst of theatrics by Kejriwal.

The AAP leader had, earlier in the day, apologised to the people of Delhi for resigning as Chief Minister in just 49 days.

In a statement, Kejriwal said: “Given the way political developments have been taking shape, it has now become clear that the possibility of providing a fresh government to the people of Delhi appears to be negligible.”

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