HC notice to DCW, chairperson on Kumar Vishwas's plea

The Delhi High Court on Friday issued notice to the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) and its chairperson Barkha Singh on a plea of AAP leader Kumar Vishwas.

Kumar Vishwas has challenged the summons issued to him by DCW on the complaint of a volunteer who had alleged that her life had been ruined because he refused to deny "rumours" over their alleged affair.

Justice Rajiv Shakdher also summoned the complainant after she was added as a party in the case. The court again refused to stay the summons issued to Vishwas by DCW.

"The high court registry will send summon to her (complainant) in a sealed cover. Issue notice to newly added party (the woman), the Delhi Commission for Women and its chairperson," said the court while posting the matter for July 1.

Earlier, the court asked Vishwas's lawyer Somnath Bharti to add the woman, who filed the complaint against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader in the DCW, as a party in the case.

The court was hearing the plea of Vishwas, who said that DCW should not be dealing with the complaint, as it was outside the commission's jurisdiction.

Bharti, argued that Vishwas had been "wrongly summoned" and the decision of summoning him was outside DCW's jurisdiction.

DCW chairperson had issued the summons due to "political vendetta", he added.

AAP has termed the allegations levelled by the woman as "baseless".

The woman, who had taken part in Vishwas's campaign in the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency in the 2014 general election, went public here asking him to deny "rumours" of their alleged affair. She later approached the DCW which summoned Vishwas.