Mend your ways or bail will be cancelled: Court to V K Singh

A local court today warned former Army Chief General V K Singh for making defamatory remarks against ex-Lt Governor of Delhi Tejinder Singh, who had filed a criminal defamation case against him and four others, saying it would lead to cancellation of his bail granted earlier.

Metropolitan Magistrate Jay Thareja disposed of the plea of Lt Gen (Retd) Tejinder Singh seeking cancellation of bail granted to the former Army Chief but issued certain directions saying V K Singh should "mend his ways and refrain from repeating the defamatory remarks" against the complainant and not to use derogatory language about the court.

"I deem it apposite not to cancel bail of accused no.1 (V K Singh) at this stage and give the accused no.1 a reasonable opportunity to mend his ways and refrain from repeating the defamatory remarks against the complainant and using derogatory language in respect of courts.

"It is clarified that in case in the future, if the accused no 1 indulges in repeating the defamatory remarks against the complainant or use of derogatory language in respect of this court, then this court would be constrained to take a stricter view of the matter and cancel the bail of the accused no.1," the magistrate said.

The court also dismissed a separate plea of former Lt Governor seeking withdrawal of exemption from appearance granted to the other four accused in the case.

Tejinder had lodged a criminal defamation case against V K Singh, the then Vice Chief of Army S K Singh, retired Lt Gen B S Thakur (then Director General of Military Intelligence), Major General S L Narshiman (Additional Director General of Public Information) and Colonel Hitten Sawhney.

In his complaint, he had alleged that he was defamed by the Army through its press release issued on March 5 last year which accused him of offering a bribe of Rs 14 crore to the then Army Chief to clear a deal of 600 trucks, a charge refuted by him.