Court orders framing of charges against BJP's Gupta for defamation

A court here Monday ordered framing of charges against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vijender Gupta in a criminal defamation complaint lodged against him by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.

Metropolitan Magistrate Namrita Aggarwal said an offence of defamation was prima facie made out against Gupta and fixed the matter for July 27 for formally framing charges against him.

Dikshit had filed the criminal defamation case against Gupta alleging that the BJP leader used "uncivilised" language against her in the run up to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls last year.

The judge in the order said: "Even the contention of counsel for accused (Gupta) that since the editor, publisher or the reporter of the referred newspapers have not been examined, no case is made out against the proposed offender is premature."

"The complainant has a liberty to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt at a stage subsequent to framing of notice in a summons triable case. In this case, prima facie offence under section 500 (punishment for defamation) IPC is made out against the accused," the court added.

The court also directed Gupta to personally appear in the court on the next date of hearing. During the hearing, the court granted exemption from personal appearance to both Dikshit and Gupta for the day.