Delhi Chief Minister Atishi Marlena has formally challenged a summoning order issued in a defamation case against her.
In response, Special Court Judge Vishal Gogne has issued a notice to the complainant, BJP leader Praveen Shankar Kapoor, regarding the defamation complaint.
The matter is scheduled for hearing on October 7, and it has also been listed before the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate on the same date.
Senior advocate Ramesh Gupta, along with advocates Shailendra Singh and Mudit Jain, represents Atishi in this case. The initial summons for Atishi was issued by the Magistrate at Rouse Avenue Court on May 28, following Kapoor’s defamation complaint.
Subsequently, on July 23, the Rouse Avenue Court granted bail to Atishi after she appeared in person and furnished the necessary bail bond.
Prior to filing the complaint, Kapoor sent a legal notice to Atishi, addressing her claims that the BJP attempted to recruit her through a “very close” person.
The notice, sent by Kapoor’s counsel, Advocate Satya Ranjan Swain, referenced a press conference held by Atishi on April 2, 2024, where she alleged that the BJP had approached her to join their ranks.
The legal notice contends that Atishi’s statements were “false, scandalous, concocted, and illusionary,” aimed at damaging the reputation of both the BJP and its members. It further criticized Atishi for failing to disclose specific information about the alleged source of her claims, labeling her statements as a product of her own imagination.
The notice demanded that Atishi retract her statements and issue a public apology, prominently broadcasting it on television and social media.
In her statements, Atishi accused the BJP-led central government of threatening her political career and indicated that failure to comply with their demands could result in her arrest by the Enforcement Directorate.
During a press conference, she asserted, “The BJP, through one of my close aides, approached me to join their party to save my political career, and if I do not join the BJP, then in the coming month, I will be arrested by the ED.”
Atishi further accused the BJP of using investigative agencies to intimidate the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), stating, “I want to tell the BJP that we will not be scared of you. We are the soldiers of Arvind Kejriwal. We are aides of Bhagat Singh. We will continue to save the Constitution and will work to give the people a better life under the leadership of Arvind Kejriwal.”
She also warned that several other AAP leaders, including Raghav Chadha and Saurabh Bharadwaj, might face similar actions from central agencies in the lead-up to the general elections.
