Following Kejriwal's denial of having instructed the lawyer to use derogatory language against Jaitley during court proceedings on May 17, Jethmalani wrote a letter to the CM, accusing him of using even more offensive language against Jaitley during private discussions on the case.
Jethmalani has asked Kejriwal to settle his legal fees amounting to more than Rs 2 crore. The lawyer used an offensive word, amounting to accusing Jaitley of being a criminal, during proceedings of the Rs 10-crore defamation case against Kejriwal and five other AAP leaders.
Jaitley questioned Jethmalani if the word was used on his client's instruction. On being told it was, he filed another Rs 10-crore defamation suit against the CM.
In his affidavit, Kejriwal said it was "inconceivable that he would even think of instructing the senior counsel to use such objectionable words". In response, after conveying his decision to quit as the CM's advocate, Jethmalani also told the CM to settle his legal fee, which, by a conservative estimate, would be over Rs 2 crore. The Delhi government had, this February, cleared a payment of Rs 3.5 crore to Jethmalani, which included Rs 1 crore as retainer and Rs 22 lakh as fee for each appearance in court.
The CM's office has refused to comment on the matter. Jethmalani told the Time of India, that "Kejriwal has written a letter to me. I have replied to that. I am not going to divulge the details of either of the letters. "