Court says evidence against BJP MLA Karnail Singh enough to initiate proceedings

A Delhi court will proceed with a defamation case against BJP MLA Karnail Singh, citing sufficient evidence from AAP leader Satyendar Jain's complaint.

A Delhi court on Wednesday said that the evidence supporting the accusations against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Karnail Singh were enough to proceed against him in a criminal defamation case.

The order was passed by additional chief judicial magistrate (AJCM) Paras Dalal of Rouse Avenue Courts. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The order was passed by additional chief judicial magistrate (AJCM) Paras Dalal of Rouse Avenue Courts.

“This court is cognizant of the ‘complaint of facts’ and prima facie all the evidence of defamation are established by the complainant…to proceed to trial,” the court said.

ACJM Dalal said that after taking cognisance of the complaint filed by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Satyendar Jain, the accusations against Singh were not groundless and were adequate to proceed against him.

ACJM Dalal put notice of accusation to Singh and directed him to be present before the court on the next date of hearing, scheduled on April 8, without fail.

To be sure, the process of putting notice of accusation refers to the stage where a magistrate informs the accused of the specific charges against them.

Jain had alleged that Singh defamed him on January 19 last year, by making statements against him on a television show. Jain, who also contested the election from the same constituency, claimed that the remarks were made during the Delhi Legislative Assembly election period.

According to the complaint, Singh had alleged that the enforcement directorate (ED) had recovered 37 kilograms of gold from Jain’s residence. He further claimed that Jain owned 1,100 acres of land, which was acquired through corruption and money laundering.

After examining the material on record, the court had observed that Singh had shared information with the media that was not supported by any official press release issued by the ED. The court further noted that the claims appeared to be deliberately exaggerated.

Jain is represented by advocate Rajat Bhardwaj.