The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought the response of Delhi BJP leader Chhail Bihari Goswami on a plea by AAP leader Satyendar Jain challenging the summons issued to him by a trial court in a criminal defamation complaint filed by Goswami.
The high court, however, refused to stay the trial court proceedings at this stage.
“I am not convinced to stay the proceedings. I need to hear them. I need to see the trial court record,” Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said.
Senior advocate Rebecca John, appearing for Jain, urged the high court to stay the trial court proceedings as the matter is listed for November 30 for cross-examination of the complainant.
The high court listed the matter for further hearing on December 14.
A magisterial court had earlier issued summons to AAP leaders Satyendar Jain and Raghav Chadha in the defamation complaint and the sessions court upheld it on November 9, saying that the summoning order was “perfectly correct and legal on facts as well as in law”.
Chadha has already challenged the sessions court before the high court and it is listed for hearing on December 11.
Goswami had filed the complaint before a metropolitan magistrate here accusing Jain, a former Delhi minister and sitting MLA, and Chadha, a Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab, of making defamatory remarks against him over North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) funds. Goswami was the chairperson of the NDMC Standing Committee.
He alleged that the two AAP leaders made the remarks to “lower the moral and intellectual character of the complainant in the eyes of the general public”.
