‘Poisoned’ Yamuna remark: 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

A Sonepat court on Wednesday issued notice to Arvind Kejriwal and fixed February 17 as the next date of hearing in the case, on a complaint filed by the Haryana government against the former Delhi chief minister over comments about Haryana supplying “poisoned” water through the Yamuna.

Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini drinking water from Yamuna to demonstrate its ‘purity’ near Dahisara village on the Delhi-Haryana border on Wednesday. (Source: X)

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 cognisance 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.

In the complaint before the CJM, the complainant submitted that on January 28, a mob comprising people from adjoining villages abutting the Yamuna had gathered in the premises of irrigation department in Sonepat. The assembled mob wanted to know why Haryana government has “poisoned” the Yamuna.

“When asked about the source of this information, the assembled crowd showed a video clip circulating on social media wherein Kejriwal was seen saying that the Haryana government has poisoned the water of Yamuna and it was due to the vigilance of the Delhi Jal Board officers that the same was timely detected and lives of number of residents of Delhi have been saved... The mob calmed down and dispersed after the persistent pacification,” reads the complaint which Hindustan Times has seen.

According to the complaint, Kejriwal’s statement caused panic among the public of the area because “part of this poisoned water” as alleged by Kejriwal also flows through the parts of Haryana.

“Therefore, this wild and vile statement has created panic in the mindset of the people of the area due to this false alarm. Thus, the accused has committed an offence as punishable under Section 54 of the Disaster Management Act,” the complaint states.

Through the complaint, the government has prayed to the court to summon, prosecute and punish the accused for “wilfully and deliberately making false alarms/warnings” regarding poisoning of water by the Haryana government, leading to panic in the area.

Hitting out at the Delhi government, Goel said that the AAP government completely failed to clean the Yamuna and that Kejriwal was levelling baseless allegations against Haryana before the elections.

“Kejriwal claimed that he stopped so-called ‘poisonous water’ from entering Delhi, but there is no evidence to support this claim. Kejriwal has an old habit of covering up his failures by making false statements,” said Goel, accusing the Delhi government of failing to keep its promise of cleaning the Yamuna.

He said that out of 37 sewage treatment plants in Delhi, only 17 are operational, which reflects the inefficiency and negligence of the Delhi government. Goel said that this mismanagement is not only affecting the people of Delhi but also those living in Haryana’s Faridabad, Palwal, and Mewat districts.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), however, was defiant and said that Haryana was deliberately sending toxic water to Delhi. “File as many cases as you want — Arvind Kejriwal will keep raising the issue that Haryana is deliberately sending toxic water to Delhi, with ammonia levels ranging from 6.5ppm to 7.2ppm — 700% above the permissible limit, untreatable, and unfit for consumption,” the AAP said in a statement.