Gehlot’s plea against summons in defamation case junked by court

NEW DELHI:  A Delhi Court dismissed the plea filed by former Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot challenging the defamation complaint filed against him by Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat followed by the former’s remarks on the alleged Sanjivani Scam row linking the latter.

Upholding the magisterial court order which summoned him in the defamation case, Additional Sessions Judge M K Nagpal noted that the order did not suffer from any factual mistake, illegality or impropriety of finding.

“It is held that even the impugned order dated July 6, 2023 passed by the ACMM (Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate) in the above criminal complaint does not suffer from any factual mistake or illegality or impropriety of finding etc,” the order stated.

Taking note of Senior Advocate Vikas Pahwa, representing Shekhawat, that at the of summoning of an accused, the court magisterial court was not required to enter into any detailed discussion or appreciation about correctness or admissibility etc of the evidence as it can be adjudicated only at the end of trial and on the basis of evidence adduced during the course of trial.

As per the Sajivani case, CM Gehlot had alleged that not only Shekhawat, who is also the BJP’s Lok Sabha Member from Jodhpur, but his family members were also involved in the Sanjeevani scam. The complainant stated that during press conferences or media briefings, Gehlot claimed that the allegations of  misappropriation of money belonging to poor and innocent investors stand proved.

In his complaint, the Union Minister said, he is neither named in the FIR in year 2019 registered at SOG police station, Jaipur nor has he been chargesheeted or put in as accused in any of the chargesheets filed so far, additionally, he has never been summoned by the Rajasthan State Police in the said matter.

Related to the defamatory material published in the media, the court while pronouncing the order over the defamation case said , “…there is found to be no requirement of examination of the journalists concerned  with  the above publications or press statements made by petitioner at the stage of summoning and it was enough if the e­copies or printouts thereof were tendered during the pre­summoning evidence of respondent in the above said criminal complaint.”