New Delhi: A city court would decide on February 20 whether to take cognisance of a criminal defamation complaint filed by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Satyendar Jain against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament (MP) Bansuri Swaraj.
Additional chief judicial magistrate Neha Mittal reserved the order on Thursday after hearing arguments in the matter.
What did the court say?
“Arguments on the point of cognisance have already been heard on behalf of the complainant (Jain) and proposed accused (Swaraj). Put up for orders on the point of cognisance on February 20, 2025,” the court said.
Jain has alleged that Swaraj defamed him by making defamatory remarks against him during an interview on a television channel on October 5, 2023.
What has Jain claimed in his defamation complaint against Swaraj?
The AAP leader has claimed in his plea before the court that the said interview on the television channel was watched by millions of people and that Swaraj falsely claimed that Rs 3 crore, 1.8 kg gold and 133 gold coins were recovered from his house. He has further said that the BJP MP made the remarks to defame him and to gain undue political advantage and she further defamed him by calling him “corrupt” and “fraud”.
What has Swaraj submitted before the court?
Swaraj has said that the defamation complaint filed by Jain against her was “politically motivated” and that the facts of the case were available in the public domain and it couldn’t be classified as defamation.
“The timing in this case (defamation) is important as the person (Jain) is contesting an election. The petition is politically motivated and it has been filed to gain political advantage,” Swaraj’s counsel earlier submitted before the court.
Jain’s counsel earlier opposed the submissions made by the counsel representing Swaraj, calling her statements “contrary to the facts”.
The court had earlier on December 16 last year, while hearing Jain’s complaint, issued notice to Swaraj.
