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Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann appears in Mansa court in defamation case
The defamation suit was filed by a former MLA, Nazar Singh Manshahia, who left the Aam Aadmi Party for the Congress on April 25, 2019
Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann appeared in a Mansa court on Thursday in a defamation suit filed by a former MLA, Nazar Singh Manshahia.
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Manshahia, who left the Aam Aadmi Party for the Congress on April 25, 2019, had complained that barely two days after the development, the then Sangrur MP Mann had held a press conference and accused him of switching parties for money and on the assurance of getting the chairmanship of the Punjab Pollution Control Board.
When Manshahia challenged Mann to either prove the allegations or apologise, he got no response. Acting on his complaint, a case was registered under Sections 500 (defamation), 34 (act done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 66E, 67 of the Information Technology Act in a Mansa court on July 30, 2019.
On Thursday, Manshahia was present in the district court when the chief minister attended the proceedings. The case has been adjourned to December 5.
After the proceedings, Mann told reporters that he had faith in the judiciary and the people of Punjab had reposed faith in his leadership.
He said political opponents were abusing legal provisions to harass the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leadership and denting the image of top party leaders by levelling frivolous charges to settle political scores.
