Chandigarh court grants Sukhbir exemption from appearance in 2017 defamation case

Badal submitted before the court that he had to attend a meeting in Badal village on Monday and undertook that he will be present for the next hearing on February 27

A local court granted Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal exemption from personal appearance on Monday in connection with the 2017 defamation case against him.

The defamation complaint against Sukhbir Singh Badal was lodged in 2017 by then Akhand Kirtani Jatha spokesperson Rajinder Pal Singh. (HT File)

As per the exemption plea filed through his counsel, Badal said he had to attend a meeting in Badal village on Monday and undertook that he will be present for the next hearing on February 27.

He was granted bail in the case on January 17.

The defamation complaint was lodged in 2017 by then Akhand Kirtani Jatha spokesperson Rajinder Pal Singh. He had approached the Chandigarh court, alleging that Sukhbir made defamatory remarks against him by associating him with the terrorist outfit Babbar Khalsa International (BKI).

Acting on the plea, the local court had summoned Sukhbir in March 2020. The Akali leader had challenged the summoning order before the Punjab and Haryana high court in 2020, and also sought quashing of the complaint.

After the high court junked Badal’s plea, trial had resumed in the lower court.