A designated MP/MLA court in West Bengal which earlier summoned Union Home Minister Amit Shah in relation to a defamation case against him filed by Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee forwarded the case to the Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Kolkata due to issues of jurisdiction.
The court issued a summon to Shah on Friday and asked him to appear either in person or through a lawyer. Shah’s counsel Brajesh Jha said that the summon was sent to the address of the state BJP headquarters at 6, Murlidhar Sen Lane, adding that the court instructed the complainant (Banerjee) to send the notice to Shah’s personal address.
Banerjee’s counsel Sanjay Basu said that two addresses of Shah, one in Delhi and another in Ahmedabad, were then submitted before the court.
Taking note of the argument of both sides, the special court directed that the case be sent to the Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Kolkata since the addresses provided were beyond its jurisdiction.
The case will come up for hearing in the Metropolitan Magistrate Court on March 22. The TMC MP, nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that Shah had made defamatory remarks against him at a BJP rally in Kolkata on August 11, 2018.