Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court on July 6 summoned Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot, in a defamation complaint filed by Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. Mr. Gehlot has been asked to appear before the court on August 7.
Mr. Shekhawat had filed the complaint on March 5 alleging that Mr. Gehlot had made remarks linking him with the Sanjivani credit cooperative society scam.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Harpreet Singh, while hearing the defamation complaint filed by Mr. Shekhawat on Thursday, said “considering the facts and circumstances, testimonies of the complainant witnesses and the evidence placed on record, it prima facie appears that the accused has made specific defamatory statements against the complainant”.
“Further, it prima facie appears that the aforesaid 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 court said.
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“It appears that the accused... has made defamatory imputations against the complainant, knowing and intending to harm the reputation of the complainant, the court added.
“At the cost of brevity, it is again specified here that the discussion here cannot be said to be a comment on the final merits of the case, as the same is a matter of trial…. in view of the aforesaid discussion there exists sufficient grounds to summon the accused Ashok Gehlot, under section 500 of the Indian Penal Code,” the court said.
The court, in the summon orders, maintained that at the post-summoning stage, the burden of proof upon the complainant is much higher (in comparison to pre-summoning evidence) and he is expected to prove his averments with much higher degree of formality.
Mr. Shekhawat’s criminal defamation suit against Mr. Gehlot said the latter defamed him with remarks on the Sanjivani scam. The complainant maintained that the personal attack by Mr. Gehlot has deeply hurt his reputation and that of his family, and demanded that the court take legal action against Mr. Gehlot. He also sought appropriate compensation.
According to the complaint, Mr. Gehlot had said that the allegations against Mr. Shekhawat stand proved, whereas, neither he nor any of his family members have been named in any of the chargesheets filed in the said matter, nor have they ever been summoned by the investigating agencies or by court.
In April this year, the court had directed an investigation into the matter through Delhi Police. The court had asked the Delhi Police to investigate if the complainant was addressed as “an accused” in the Sanjivani scam by Mr. Gehlot. The police was also to investigate whether the allegations on Mr. Shekhawat or his family members stand proved.
