A special court in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, has granted exemption to BJP chief VD Sharma, former state chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and ex-state minister Bhupendra Singh from appearing before it in person in a criminal defamation case until June 7, 2024.
The court’s direction came during the hearing of the plea of the BJP leaders in a defamation suit filed against them by Congress’ Rajya Sabha member and senior Supreme Court advocate Vivek Tankha.
Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Vishveshwari Mishra of the special court designated to handle cases related to MPs and MLAs granted the exemption, as confirmed by Shiv Kumar Shrivastava, counsel for the respondents.
“In defamation cases, respondents are required to attend court hearings in person. However, the BJP leaders had sought exemption citing their involvement in the Lok Sabha elections,” Shrivastava explained.
Chouhan and Sharma are BJP candidates from Vidisha and Khajuraho Lok Sabha seats, respectively. Madhya Pradesh will undergo polls in four phases between April 19 and May 13.
Congress Rajya Sabha MP Tankha has alleged that the BJP leaders tarnished his image by falsely claiming his involvement in a Supreme Court case related to Other Backward Classes (OBC) quota in panchayat elections in 2021.
Tankha, a former MP advocate general, stated that he had neither participated in any court proceedings related to the OBC reservation nor filed any petition on the issue.
In addition to the criminal defamation suit, the Congress leader has also filed a civil defamation suit of Rs 10 crore against Sharma, Chouhan, and Singh.
On January 19, the court ordered the registration of the defamation suit after finding sufficient evidence for trial.
