A court here Monday allowed former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit exemption from personal appearance in a defamation case filed by her against BJP leader Vijender Gupta as she paid the fine levied by the court for her previous non-appearance.
Metropolitan Magistrate Neha allowed Dikshit’s application for exemption from personal appearance and fixed the matter for further hearing on July 2.
Dikshit’s counsel paid the fine amount to Bharatiya Janata Party leader, who was present in the court. Gupta’s counsel Anil Soni, however, told IANS that he has decided to donate the amount to poor and needy people.
At the last hearing Oct 28, 2013, the court imposed costs of Rs.5,000 on Dikshit for her non-appearance and directed her to appear before court “without giving any excuse” on Jan 27.
Dikshit had also filed a criminal defamation case against Gupta alleging that the BJP leader used “uncivilised” language against her in the run-up to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls last year.
On Aug 6, 2013, the court framed criminal defamation charges against Gupta, a former chief of the party’s Delhi.
(Source: IANS)
