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Delhi court refuses to acquit Gehlot in defamation case
A Delhi court on Tuesday refused to acquit Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot in a criminal defamation complaint lodged by Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat
A Delhi court on Tuesday refused to acquit Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot in a criminal defamation complaint lodged by Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
The counsel for the chief minister sought dropping of charges against Gehlot on the ground that Shekhawat failed to appear before the court on two previous dates – August 7 and 21 – without a justifiable cause. Additional chief metropolitan magistrate Harjeet Singh Jaspal dismissed the application, saying, “The presence of the complainant on those days was quite unnecessary, especially, considering that the counsel for the complainant was very much present before the court.” Gehlot had moved an application on August 28.
“This court finds no merit in the said arguments put forth by the counsel for the accused... in light of the … discussion, the application at hand stands dismissed,” the judge added.
On March 4, the Union minister filed a criminal defamation case against Gehlot alleging that the latter called him and his deceased mother “an accused” in the ₹900 crore Sanjivani Credit Cooperative Society scam, and that “false, uncalled, derogatory and defamatory statements have been made with the aim to tarnish his image in the eyes of the general public, the voters and his kith and kin, with the object of gaining an undue political mileage”.
