Order on Dikshit's defamation plea reserved

A Delhi court will pronounce on June 4 its order on chief minister Sheila Dikshit’s plea for summoning BJP leader Vijender Gupta to face prosecution for allegedly defaming her before the recent MCD polls.

Metropolitan magistrate Saumya Chauhan reserved the orders after Dikshit’s counsel pleaded that summoning Gupta was necessary to establish the defamation case. “I reserve the orders for June 4,” the magistrate said.

Advocate Mehmood Paracha, appearing for Dikshit, said the summons need to be issued against the BJP leader to ascertain that Gupta’s defamatory remarks before the April 15 civil polls were to gain political mileage by maligning the image of the chief minister.

“The statements of Gupta were malafide and made with conspiracy to take political mileage by defaming Dikshit,” the advocate said. Referring to the model code of conduct, enforced by the elections commission in run up to the MCD polls, Paracha said, “criticism should be fair and becoming of the person like accused Gupta, who is a senior leader of the BJP.”

Dikshit had on Wednesday recorded her statement before the magistrate in the case. She had filed the criminal defamation case alleging that the BJP leader used “uncivilised” language before MCD polls.