Delhi court rejects Satyender Jain's defamation case against BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj
'In light of the foregoing analysis, this court finds itself in full concurrence with the conclusions arrived at by the Ld. Trial Court, to the effect that sufficient ground does not exist to justify the invocation of jurisdiction for taking cognizance of the offence as defined and punishable under Section 356 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) (criminal defamation). Accordingly, the instant revision petition is dismissed,' said Special Judge Jitendra Singh of Rouse Avenue Court in his order dated July 31.
The case pertains to the alleged defamatory statements by Swaraj against Jain, based on Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids at the latter's house and subsequent seizure of Rs 3 crore in cash and 1.8 kg of gold, along with 133 gold coins. The agency itself had posted the details of the seizure on its X handle.
The statements by Swaraj were aired on news channels in October 2023. Judge Singh also said that it was incumbent upon an investigative agency such as the ED to act 'impartially and uphold the principles of fairness and due process'. Any dissemination of information by them must be accurate and free from sensationalism, he added.
The court said that the statement in question is based on an official communication issued by a government agency (ED) through its verified social media handle. 'Hence, any official tweet is rather what comes from the horse's mouth itself,' it said.
'Upon consideration of the material on record, it is evident that the statement attributed to the proposed accused is a verbatim reiteration of a tweet published by the ED through its official social media handle,' the court said.
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