A Delhi court on Thursday rejected a criminal defamation complaint filed by Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders Atishi, a former chief minister, and MP Sanjay Singh. The decision came after Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Paras Dalal concluded that there was no sufficient basis to proceed with the allegations.
The complaint stemmed from accusations made during a press conference, where Atishi and Singh claimed that Dikshit had accepted “crores of rupees from the BJP” and that the Congress had colluded with the ruling party to undermine AAP. Dikshit argued that these statements were intentionally damaging to his reputation and sought legal redress for defamation.
However, after reviewing the pre-summoning submissions from both parties, Magistrate Dalal determined that the statements did not constitute a clear intent to defame. “I don’t see any imputation made out to defame the complainant,” stated Dalal in his judgment. “This court declines to take cognisance.”
The court’s dismissal of the case underscores the challenges in proving defamation, especially in the context of political discourse where the boundary between robust criticism and defamatory speech can often be blurred. This ruling is likely to be seen as a setback for Dikshit, who has argued that the allegations made by the AAP leaders were baseless and intended to tarnish his image.
