Delhi HC summons AAP's Saurabh Bharadwaj in defamation suit filed by deputy CM Parvesh Verma

The summons were issued by Joint Registrar (Judicial) Gagandeep Jindal on May 25, who listed the case for hearing on September 7.

The Delhi High Court has issued summons to Aam Aadmi Party Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj in a defamation suit filed by Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Delhi deputy chief minister Parvesh Verma over social media posts alleging that Verma used his influence to favour officials of a school in Delhi’s Janakpuri area where a three-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted.

The summons were issued by Joint Registrar (Judicial) Gagandeep Jindal on May 25 (HT)

The summons were issued by Joint Registrar (Judicial) Gagandeep Jindal on May 25, who listed the case for hearing on September 7.

“Let the plaint be registered as a suit. Re-notify the matter for completion of service and pleadings, marking of exhibits and admission/denial of documents on September 7, 2026,” the order read.

In his suit argued by senior advocate Sacchin Puri, Verma alleged that Bharadwaj shared “false, malicious and highly defamatory” posts and videos from his X account on May 15 and 16, accusing him of misusing his ministerial position to appoint an alleged associate as a trustee of a private school trust valued at nearly ₹500 crore and falsely suggesting that the trust belonged to him.

The minister submitted that the posts levelled allegations of corruption, nepotism and suppression of official records against him, thereby tarnishing his reputation and lowering his standing in the eyes of the public.

On May 1, the survivor’s mother lodged a complaint at Janakpuri police station, alleging that her daughter was sexually assaulted during school hours on April 30, the second day after her admission to the school. The child complained that she was taken to an isolated area inside the school where the accused allegedly assaulted her. Police registered a case under Section 64 (punishment for rape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the POCSO and arrested a 57-year-old staffer, who was granted bail by the trial court on May 7.