JOIN USState BJP president Vijender Gupta was on Friday granted bail in a defamation case filed against him by chief minister Sheila Dikshit in a city court amid high drama after lawyers were asked to get out of the courtroom.
Metropolitan magistrate Saumya Chouhan granted bail to Gupta on furnishing a bail bond of Rs 15,000 with one surety of the same amount. Gupta had appeared before the court in response to summons issued to him earlier.
The drama started in the courtroom when Dikshit’s counsel Mehmood Pracha filed an application seeking exemption for her from personal appearance for the day. But the plea was opposed by Gupta’s lawyers.
“How can the court allow the exemption application of the chief minister. She should also be asked to be present in court on each hearing as she is the complainant in the case,” Gupta’s advocates Ajay Digpaul, Neeraj Kumar and Abhay Kumar Verma contended.
However, the court allowed Dikshit’s plea for the day’s exemption. This was opposed by Gupta’s counsel, who said, “The judge cannot pass such an order.” The judge then asked everyone, except the arguing counsel for the two parties, to vacate the courtroom. Some 20 lawyers and other members of the Saket Court Bar Association, who were present there, raised objection to the judge’s move and contended that the “court cannot say like this”.
Even the advocates assisting Gupta’s counsel were asked to leave. “We are officers of the court and even we are related to the case. Why should we leave the courtroom?” one of them said.
Irked over the lawyers’ reaction, the magistrate said it was her courtroom and she can give any direction and adjourned the matter for the next date of hearing.
“After the lawyers’ uproar, the case is adjourned for October 12,” the magistrate said in her order, adding that the “crowd” should move out of the courtroom.
The battery of lawyers, appearing for the BJP leader, then went to the court of district judge R K Gauba to complain against the magistrate.
CWG case against Dikshit
A city court on Friday held as “maintainable” a complaint against Dikshit and others, allegeing their involvement in large-scale corruption during the 2010 Commonwealth Games. “I find the complaint maintainable,” said additional chief metropolitan magistrate Manish Yaduvanshi.
The court also issued a notice to the deputy commissioner of police and additional DCP of the economic offence wing of Delhi Police to appear in person before it on September 26 with “proper reports”.
The complaint was filed by RTI activist Vivek Garg, alleging that Dikshit, PWD minister Raj Kumar Chauhan and former CWG organising committee chairperson Suresh Kalmadi had indulged in corruption in CWG-related projects.