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Gehlot moves court against summons in defamation case
Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday moved a sessions court in Delhi challenging summons issued against him in a criminal defamation complaint.
Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday moved a sessions court in Delhi challenging summons issued against him by the magistrate court in a criminal defamation complaint filed by Union Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
Gehlot’s petition is listed before sessions judge MK Nagpal for hearing on Tuesday.
Union minister Shekhawat, who represents Jodhpur Lok Sabha constituency, filed a criminal defamation case against the Rajasthan chief minister on March 4 alleging that the latter called him and his deceased mother “an accused” in the ₹900 crore Sanjivani Credit Cooperative Society scam.
In his complaint, the minister alleged 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”.
On July 6, additional chief metropolitan magistrate (ACMM) Harpreet Singh Jaspal had issued summons to Gehlot to appear before the court. After going through the reports filed by the Delhi Police, the magistrate had listed the matter for August 7.
“…having considered the facts and circumstances, the testimonies of the complainant witnesses, the evidence placed on record, it prima facie appears that the accused has made specific defamatory statements against the complaint,” Jaspal had observed.
“It appears that the defamatory statements of the accused have been sufficiently published in the newspaper electronic media/social media, which may make the right thinking members of the society shun the complainant,” the magistrate had further observed.
In 2019, the special operational group (SOG) registered a first information report (FIR) against the multi-state credit cooperative society Sanjivani Credit Society for allegedly duping thousands of investors of ₹900 crore. Six office bearers of the society were arrested in 2019. The FIR, however, did not name Shekhawat.
In his complaint, Shekhawat has alleged that Gehlot, by way of press conferences, media reports and social media posts, publicly stated that the Union minister and his family members were accused in the Sanjeevani scam and that the allegations against the complainant have been proved.
