HC notice to Mann, Dhaliwal in defamation case
The Punjab and Haryana high court sought a response from chief minister Bhagwant Mann and minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal in a defamation case
The Punjab and Haryana high court sought a response from chief minister Bhagwant Mann and minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal in a defamation case.
The court was hearing a plea filed by one Emaan Singh Mann, son of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD Amritsar) leader Simranjit Singh Mann, against a 2024 Chandigarh court order dismissing a defamation complaint by the petitioner. The Chandigarh court pronounced the order on July 24 last year.
The plea claims Bhagwant Mann and Dhaliwal held a press conference on July 29, 2022, where they alleged the petitioner had usurped 125 acres of land in Mohali’s Majri tehsil.
The petitioner claimed that during the proceedings in the Chandigarh court, it came on record that he owns only 5 bighas and 14 biswa land in the area.
In the petition, Emaan Singh alleged the press conference was done with a motive to tarnish, malign and defame his and his father’s image, and sought revival of proceedings.
The plea said the trial court dismissed the complaint while holding that the press conference can only be said to be in done in ‘good faith’, where they were talking about the land freed by authorities from encroachers, and there was no evidence on record that they levelled false allegations intentionally to defame the father-son duo.
“They acted as public servants and made public aware about an official act done by the government, which cannot be said to be commission of any offence,” the trial court had said while dismissing the complaint seeking summoning of the CM and the minister under sections 499 and 500 of Indian Penal code (IPC).
