Delhi Minister Atishi Appears In BJP Leader’s Defamation Case

Delhi Minister Atishi appeared virtually today in response to a defamation complaint filed by BJP leader Praveen Shankar Kapoor. Metropolitan Magistrate Tanya Bamniyal scheduled the hearing for July 23. Atishi had been summoned on May 28.

The court declined to issue a summons to Arvind Kejriwal, also named in the complaint, due to an incorrect address reported for the summons delivery. Despite this, the complainant’s counsel claimed the summons had been served. Atishi and senior counsel Ramesh Gupta participated via video conferencing, and the court ordered a copy of the complaint to be provided to her counsel. The complainant’s counsel submitted a report of delivery.

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The court stated, “Put up for the appearance of the accused and further proceedings on July 23.” Before filing the complaint, Kapoor had sent a legal notice to Atishi for her claims that the BJP approached her to join the party through a close associate. The notice, sent by advocate Satya Ranjan Swain, accused Atishi of making false, scandalous, and defamatory statements to damage the BJP’s reputation.

The notice demanded that Atishi retract her statements and issue a public apology. At a press conference, Atishi alleged that the BJP threatened her with arrest by the Enforcement Directorate if she did not join their party. She claimed the BJP, through a close aide, approached her to save her political career, threatening her with arrest if she refused. Atishi accused the BJP-led Centre of using probe agencies to intimidate her party and vowed to continue fighting under Arvind Kejriwal’s leadership. She also predicts that other AAP leaders, including Raghav Chadha and Saurabh Bharadwaj, would be arrested before the general elections.