Sheila Dikshit appears in court, order reserved on plea in criminal defamation complaint filed by her

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today appeared in a court here which reserved its order for July 1 on framing charges against BJP leader Vijender Gupta in a criminal defamation complaint filed by her.

Mrs Dikshit arrived in the court of Metropolitan Magistrate Namrita Aggarwal, who took up the matter only after Gupta came in.

The court told Mrs Diskshit's counsel that she can leave after marking per presence in the court but it was opposed by Mr Gupta's counsel who said the Chief Minister should wait and the magistrate should take up the matter as per the sequence of the cause list.

The court reserved its order on whether charges are to be framed against Mr Gupta, after hearing arguments from the counsel for  and Mr Gupta.

"Come on July 1 for an order or for clarification, if needed," the magistrate said.

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During the over 30 minutes long hearing, Mrs Dikshit kept standing beside her advocate Mehmood Pracha. Earlier, Mrs Dikshit had appeared in the court on May 30 last year for recording her statement, after which Mr Gupta was summoned as an accused in the case.

Mrs Dikshit had filed the criminal defamation case against Mr Gupta alleging that the BJP leader used "uncivilised" language against her in the run up to the MCD polls last year.
During the arguments, Pracha said Mr Gupta was claiming that the statement given by him against Mrs Dikshit at a public place was not made by him, which is "completely false".

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"If he (Mr Gupta) agrees that he has made such allegations against my client (CM), then there is no need of calling any other witnesses in the case," he said, adding that there is evidence, which can be observed in newspaper clippings placed on record by them.

He said the accused has moved the Delhi High Court to quash the proceedings against him in this case. Mrs Diskshit's counsel submitted that she is at a responsible position and she had legally sent a notice to Mr Gupta after which a complaint was lodged.

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Mr Gupta's counsel Ajay Burman, however, argued that Mrs Dikshithas not produced any concrete evidence and the material is based on newspaper reports which are "inadmissible".

"There is no witness in the case to show that her esteem has been lowered in the eyes of public or any other person."She had not corroborated any of her allegations made in the complaint and Mr Gupta has been summoned on the basis of news reports which is not a material as it is a hearsay evidence," he said.

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He also said the present case was filed against his client to harass him as he has been fighting for rights of citizens.
Earlier, Mrs Dikshit had sought exemption from personal appearance several times on various grounds including her health condition and official commitments.

Her counsel had earlier said she could not appear in the court as she underwent a surgery recently and was not feeling well and had also submitted her medical records.

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Mr Gupta's counsel had argued that as per law, if the complainant in a summons-trial case does not appear in the case on several dates, then the court can dismiss the complaint unless there is a valid or plausible reason for non-appearance.