Court to hear Dikshit's plea against fine Dec 3

The Delhi High Court Friday posted, for Dec 3, the case filed by former chief minister Sheila Dikshit against Rs.3 lakh fine imposed on her by a lower court here, after she faile d to appear before it in a defamation case filed by her against BJP leader Vijender Gupta.

Justice S.K. Misra agreed to hear the plea of Dikshit.

On Aug 31, a court here had slapped the fine on Dikshit after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader's counsel told court that she was directed by the court to appear without any excuse. The court had directed her to pay Rs.2 lakh to Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DLSA) and Rs.1 lakh to Gupta and fixed Dec 20 as next date of hearing.

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 in 2012.

Moving high court, Dikshit contended that despite being represented by her advocate on Aug 31 in the trial court, the fine was imposed on her. It was also said in the plea that the fine was imposed despite Dikshit's counsel seeking the exemption from the court on the grounds that she was preoccupied with some political work.

Appointed as Kerala governor in March this year just ahead of the Lok Sabha polls and months after losing power in Delhi, Dikshit had tendered her resignation from the post Aug 26.