SAD leader gets 1-yr jail in defamation case

A senior Shiromani Akali Dal leader was today sentenced to one year in jail in a defamation case filed against him by a Congress leader.
Former SAD MLA and the serving chairman of the Amritsar District Planning Committee, Veer Singh Lopoke, was awarded the sentence by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Sandeep Singh Josan.
The counsel for Congress MLA Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria said that the defamation case was filed under Section 500 IPC against Lopoke for false propaganda during last year's Assembly elections.
Besides the jail sentence, the court also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on Lopoke.
However, following the verdict, Lopoke was granted bail by the court on the condition that he would file an appeal in a higher court within a period of 30 days.

Sarkaria has won Assembly elections twice in a row after defeating Lopoke, his rival SAD candidate.
Sarkaria in his petition had alleged that Lopoke had made false allegations of rape against him during the election campaign.