Court summons BJP MP in defamation case

A Delhi court has summoned senior advocate and BJD MP Pinaki Misra on March 5 in connection with a criminal defamation complaint filed by another lawyer for allegedly making objectionable remarks against him in an interview last year.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal passed the order after examining the complainant as a part of pre summoning evidence.

In his complaint, advocate Siddhartha Singh has sought Misra's prosecution under sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code for alleged defamatory remarks against him in an interview to a newspaper in August last year.

He said the remarks made by Misra "diminished his public image and severally affected his professional life".

 

The court said, "Let fresh summons be issued to the accused to face trial on March 5."

In his complaint, Singh claimed that Misra made the remarks after he had filed a complaint before the Bar Council of Delhi against him over "unprofessional" conduct for representing discoms before the National Green Tribunal.

He submitted that Misra was the chairperson of a parliamentary standing committee set up in relation to violation of e-waste management rules by the discom companies and the committee submitted a report claiming that power companies were at fault and had violated e-waste management rules.

The committee report had recommended punitive actions against those companies, the complaint said.

However, Misra started representing the same power companies before the NGT against whom the report had recommended punitive actions, it claimed.

Singh had filed a petition before the NGT on behalf of a Delhi resident against power companies in relation to alleged violation of e-waste management rules, whereas Misra started appearing as advocate to defend the discom companies.

Singh, thereafter, filed the complaint before the Bar Council of Delhi accusing Misra of "severe misconduct", following which the alleged defamatory remarks were made, the complaint said.