Criminal defamation case: A court in Jabalpur has issued a bailable warrant against former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, state BJP chief V D Sharma, and former state minister Bhupendra Singh. This action was taken as they failed to provide undertakings in a criminal defamation case filed against them.
The case stems from a complaint lodged by Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Vivek Tankha.
Court asks BJP leaders to appear on May 7
Magistrate Vishveshwari Mishra of the special court for cases against MPs and MLAs issued bailable warrants on Tuesday, directing the three BJP leaders to appear on May 7, as confirmed by their lawyer Shyam Vishwakarma. Previously, on March 22, 2024, the court had granted Chouhan and the other two exemptions until June 7 from appearing before it, while also requiring them to provide certain undertakings.
However, it was unclear what specific undertakings were required to be provided, said advocate Vishvakarma. He added that the BJP leaders subsequently moved the court on Tuesday seeking clarification on this matter. As of now, the details of the court order issued on Tuesday are not available.
What is the case?
Tankha, a senior Supreme Court lawyer and former state advocate general, alleged in his complaint that the BJP leaders tarnished his reputation by falsely asserting that he was involved in a Supreme Court case concerning the OBC quota in the 2021 Panchayat elections in the state. Additionally, Tankha has filed a civil defamation suit against Sharma, Chouhan, and Singh, seeking damages amounting to Rs 10 crore.
(With PTI inputs)
