Vivek Tankha (L) and Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan (R).
Credit: X/@VTankha, PTI Photo
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday was informed that Rajya Sabha Congress MP and senior advocate Vivek Tankha has decided to withdraw a defamation case lodged against Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in view of settlement of the dispute.
Senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, counsel for Chouhan gave this information to a bench of Justices M M Sundresh and N Kotiswar Singh.
Jethmalani said that both the leaders had met in Parliament and Tankha decided to withdraw the case lodged against Chouhan.
In February, 2025, the court asked Chouhan and Tankha to amicably settle the defamation case.
Asking both Chouhan and Tankha to amicably settle the defamation case, the bench had said, "Please do not make us hear this case. Let us close it. Both of you sit together and settle this."
Tankha claimed that Chouhan, BJP state president V D Sharma and former minister Bhupendra Singh carried out a "coordinated, malicious, false and defamatory" campaign against him for gaining political mileage by accusing him of opposing OBC reservation in the 2021 panchayat elections in Madhya Pradesh.
The allegations were vehemently rejected by Chouhan and others.
The court had in March this year extended its November 11, 2024 interim order of granting exemption to Chouhan from personal appearance before a Madhya Pradesh trial court in connection with the case.
On January 20, 2024, a special court in Jabalpur decided to examine the plea filed by Tankha against the three BJP leaders under Section 500 (Punishment for defamation) of the IPC (Indian Penal Code) and summoned them.