Ghaziabad Court Takes Action in Defamation Case Against Congress Leader
A Ghaziabad court has officially summoned two individuals, including a national spokesperson for the Congress party, in a significant defamation case initiated by BJP MP and former Uttar Pradesh health minister, Atul Garg. The ruling came on Tuesday from Chief Judicial Magistrate Aishwairya Pratap Singh, who found sufficient prima facie evidence to proceed against the accused.
Details of the Case and Allegations
The case centers on an FIR registered at Kavinagar police station in October 2024, just before the Election Commission announced bypolls for 10 UP assembly seats, including Ghaziabad. The complaint targets Congress spokesperson Dolly Sharma and Imran Khan, who identifies as the editor-in-chief of a newspaper.
MP Atul Garg alleged that on April 12, 2024, Sharma made baseless allegations against him at the office of the opposition alliance INDIA in Ghaziabad. The BJP leader claimed Sharma intentionally maligned his reputation by describing him as a "land-grabber" who had allegedly "grabbed about 31,000 square meters of govt land" and established Land Craft Developers Pvt. Ltd.
Garg further contended that these allegations were later reproduced by journalist Imran Khan in his newspaper without proper verification of facts, thereby amplifying the damage to his reputation.
Court's Ruling and Legal Proceedings
The court order specifically states: "Let Dolly Sharma be summoned under sections 500 (criminal punishment for defamation) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) read with 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and Imran Khan under sections 500, 501 (printing a matter known to be defamatory) and 504 read with 120B of the IPC."
The matter has been scheduled for compliance hearing on December 12. This development follows the August 19 order of the high court, which directed the lower court to pass appropriate orders after hearing both parties as expeditiously as possible.
During proceedings, the court examined substantial evidence including:
- A pen drive containing the original video where defamatory statements were made
- Four video files where Sharma allegedly called Garg a "corrupt person and a land grabber"
- Investigating officer's report confirming the statements were given to various news channels
Defense Arguments and Political Context
In her written reply, Sharma maintained that she is the national spokesperson of Congress and issues statements representing the party. She claimed the land grabbing allegations were originally made by a BJP functionary named Pawan Goyal, and she merely repeated them while exercising her right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19 of the Constitution.
Co-accused Imran Khan stated in his reply that he is the editor-in-chief of the newspaper Aap Abhi Tak and that the April 12, 2024 report was published by a reporter based on statements given by Sharma. The front-page news carried the title "Bhajpa ne bhoo mafia Atul Garg ko hi bana diya Lok Sabha pratyashi" along with Garg's photograph.
However, the investigating officer recorded a statement from Pawan Goyal, who denied any dispute with Garg and stated he never made written complaints or allegations against him. Goyal told the IO that he has never met Sharma and that she wrongly used his name.
The court concluded that essential ingredients to constitute the offence of defamation under Section 499 of the IPC have been satisfied, as the accused made defamatory statements intentionally to the media, which were published without verification.
This case gains additional political significance given that Dolly Sharma lost to Atul Garg by 3.4 lakh votes in the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Ghaziabad, adding a layer of political rivalry to the legal proceedings.
