‘CM does not want slander litigation’
Chief minister Sheila Dikshit told the Delhi high court on Wednesday that she does not want unnecessary litigation and is willing to be “magnanimous” if BJP leader Vijender Gupta, against whom a defamation complaint was lodged by her, comes “forward with the truth”. “Even today, my stand is that we do not want unnecessary litigation. Being a responsible citizen of the country, I am not willing to pursue it but the other side should also come forward with the truth,” Mehmood Pracha, counsel for the chief minister, told Justice J.R. Midha.
The offer was made during the hearing of Gupta’s plea challenging a trial court order to frame charges against him in the criminal defamation complaint lodged by Ms Dikshit for allegedly using uncivilised language against her in the run up to the MCD polls last year. Gupta has also sought a stay on the trial court proceedings in the case. The trial court had on Tuesday framed charges against the BJP leader under Section 500 (defamation) of the IPC.
During the hearing, the counsel for Gupta said orders to summon and then frame charges against the leader were passed “without any legally admissible evidence.”
The criminal law has been set in motion by the magistrate despite the fact that necessary ingredients for initiating defamation proceedings were missing in the case, he said.
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