Delhi High Court listed the matter for further hearing on January 22, 2024
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat to respond to an appeal filed by former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot against his summoning in a criminal defamation complaint.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma listed the matter for further hearing on January 22, 2024.
Gehlot has challenged a sessions court's order dismissing his appeal against his summoning in the complaint filed by Shekhawat.
The sessions court had said the summons issued by an additional chief metropolitan magistrate did not suffer from any factual mistake, illegality or impropriety of finding.
Shekhawat, represented through senior advocate Vikas Pahwa, has alleged in his complaint that Gehlot, by way of press conferences, media reports, and social media posts publicly defamed him by linking him to the Sanjivani scam in the state.
The Sanjivani Credit Society scam involves alleged defrauding of thousands of investors of an estimated Rs 900 crore with the promise of unusually high returns.
The sessions court had taken note of Pahwa's submission that at the time of summoning an accused the magisterial court was not required to enter into any detailed discussion or appreciation about the correctness or admissibility etc of the evidence as it can be adjudicated only at the end of trial and on the basis of evidence adduced during the course of trial.
The trial court had earlier refused to stay the proceedings in the complaint but allowed Gehlot to appear before a metropolitan magistrate through video conference.
Shekhawat, the Union Jal Shakti Minister and MP from Jodhpur, has alleged in his complaint before the magistrate that Gehlot has been making defamatory remarks against him over the purported scam and trying to tarnish his image and affect his political career.
The magisterial court had earlier said Gehlot "prima facie" made defamatory imputations against Shekhawat, knowing well about the implications and intending to harm his reputation.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)