Court returns defamation complaint against AAP leaders

NEW DELHI: A court here has returned a defamation complaint seeking action against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) spokesperson Sanjay Singh over the May 10 attack on suspended AAP leader Kapil Mishra.Additional Senior Civil Judge V.K. Gautam said that the present court lacks territorial jurisdiction to entertain the complaint against the AAP leaders.Ankit Bhardwaj, state executive member of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), a youth wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party, filed a defamation case against Kejriwal and AAP spokesperson Sanjay Singh, seeking the court's order to prosecute them.

The court returned the complaint to Bhardwaj directing him to file the complaint in the concerned court which has jurisdiction to entertain his plea. Bhardwaj, in his complaint said that on May 10, a person allegedly named Ankit Bhardwaj attacked sacked minister Kapil Mishra when he was sitting on a protest and it was later found that he is an AAP volunteer.But AAP activists and some senior leaders picked Ankit Bhardwaj of the BJP and declared that he was the one who attacked Mishra and also spread this information in the media and social media.Even Sanjay Singh declared him as the assailant by showing BJYM member Bhardwaj's Facebook profile. Kejriwal also retweeted a tweet quoting Ankit Bhardwaj as the accused, the BJYM leader said.He alleged that the AAP members' act has tarnished his image in the minds of party leaders, relatives, friends and the public at large.Bhardwaj also said that their act is causing harm to his reputation.