NEW DELHI, May 31:
A Delhi court will pronounce on June 4 its order on Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit’s plea for summoning BJP leader Vijender Gupta to face prosecution for allegedly defaming her before the recent MCD polls.
Metropolitan Magistrate Saumya Chauhan reserved the orders after Dikshit’s counsel pleaded that summoning Gupta was necessary to establish the defamation case.
“I reserve the orders for June 4,” the magistrate said.
Advocate Mehmood Paracha, appearing for Dikshit, said the summons need to be issued against the BJP leader to ascertain that Gupta’s defamatory remarks before the April 15 civil polls were to gain political mileage by maligning the image of the chief minister.
“The statements (of Gupta) were malafide and made with conspiracy to take political mileage by defaming her (Dikshit),” the advocate said.
Referring to the Model Code of Conduct, enforced by the Elections Commission in run up to the MCD polls, Paracha said “criticism should be fair and becoming of the person like the accused (Gupta), who is a senior leader of the BJP”.
Dikshit had yesterday recorded her statement before the magistrate in the case.
She had filed the criminal defamation case alleging that the BJP leader used “uncivilised” language before MCD polls.
The chief minister had also filed a civil suit in the Delhi High Court against Gupta for erecting hoardings across the city, accusing her government of conniving with private discoms and indulging in corruption in determining power tariff.
The chief minister had testified that she had sent legal notices to Gupta after the civic polls but the BJP leader did not apologise and rather stood by his remarks.
BJP’s Delhi unit president Vijender Gupta had earlier filed an application seeking dismissal of the case. (PTI)
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