Allahabad HC sets aside defamation case against Azam Khan

In a relief to former Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan, the Allahabad High Court today set aside a defamation case filed against him in a court here by an IPS officer for alleged use of defamatory language at a press conference in Rampur.
The Lucknow bench of the high court noted that there was no prima facie evidence in the case filed by Amitabh Thakur in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate here to issue summons to Khan.
Holding that there is no direct witness to the statements alleged to have been made by Khan, the bench said the value of admission of guilt in criminal cases differed at different stages.

Hence, the high court quashed the summoning order and the arrest warrant issued against Khan.
The order has been passed by Justice Pratyush Kumar on the petition of the former minister.
It was pleaded on behalf of Khan that Thakur had nowhere stated in the complaint as to what were the defamatory remarks made by the former minister against him at the press conference in November 2015.