Sandeep Dikshit defamation case: Court lists complaint to hear arguments by CM Atishi, Sanjay Singh

New Delhi [India], January 27 : The Rouse Avenue court listed the defamation complaint for pre-cognizance arguments by the proposed accused CM Atishi and AAP MLA Sanjay Singh.
Former Congress MP Sandeep Dikshit has filed a defamation complaint against them. Their counsel submitted that he had received a copy of the complaint. Dikshit is contesting Delhi assembly elections against former CM and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal from New Delhi Constituency.
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Paras Dalal listed the matter on February 6.
Advocate Rajat Bhardwaj, the counsel for CM Atishi and AAP MP Sanjay Singh submitted that he has received a copy of the complaint. However, some pages are not legible. The court asked the counsel for Sandeep Dikshit to supply legible copies of documents.
The counsel for Sandeep Dikshit also submitted that if the proposed accused takes back the allegations, he can think of not prosecuting them.
The Rouse Avenue court on January 16 issued notice to CM Atishi and AAP MP Sanjay Singh on a defamation complaint filed by former Congress MP Sandeep Dikshit. The notices were issued to give the proposed accused to be heard before taking cognizance of the complaint.
A case under section 223 read with section 222(1) of BNSS, 2023 for summoning, trying and punishing the accused persons for the commission of offences under section 356 read with section 3(5) of BNS, 2023.
Sandeep Dikshit has filed a complaint through advocate Sarim Naved and alleged that the accused organized a press conference dated 26.12.2024 in New Delhi wherein defamatory allegations were made against the complainant and Indian National Congress (INC), the political party that he represents.
It is alleged that the accused alleged that the complainant has not just accepted "crores of rupees" from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), but the Indian National Congress and he has even colluded with the BJP with the objective of defeating the AAP. The complaint has stated that the accused did not substantiate their allegations with any material evidence.
It is also stated that Atishi in the presence and with the concurrence of MP Sanjay Singh alleged that INC and the complainant were in collusion with the BJP to defeat the AAP. Therefore, the defamatory act of the accused persons is part of the same scheme of things with the nefarious objective to defame the complainant.
It is also stated that the live proceedings of the press conference were even shared by CM Atishi through her X handle at 13.08 pm dated 26.12.2024 with the following caption BJP is helping Congress in the Delhi election. Moreover, the said X post has over 30,000 (thirty thousand) views on Twitter and has been shared widely. Further, the news of defamatory statements has been widely carried by national newspapers.
It is alleged that the facts and circumstances clearly reveal that the accused by words, both written and spoken, has made and caused to be published imputations against the complainant intending to harm his reputation and has thereby committed the offence of defamation punishable under Section 356 of BNS, 2023.
It is alleged that the legal notice was sent on 02.01.2025. The defamatory tweet on platform X continues to be available online.