Union Minister Arun Jaitley today opposed in Delhi High Court the plea of AAP leader Deepak Bajpai challenging the lower court's order summoning him in a criminal defamation case, saying it was a "sorry attempt" to delay the trial.

Jaitley, in an affidavit, said the AAP leader's plea was devoid of any merit as no sincere attempt has been made by him to satisfy the grounds for condonation of the gross delay in filing the petition.

He said the plea has been filed after over one-and-a-half years which "establishes a clear case of malafide and a sorry attempt to delay the ongoing trial".