UP Court finds AAP's Sanjay Singh guilty of defamation of BJP leader, orders him to pay ₹1 lakh compensation

A Civil Court in Lucknow on Tuesday held Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Member Parliament (MP) Sanjay Singh guilty of defaming Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Member Legislative Council (MLC) Dr Mahendra Kumar Singh (plaintiff). .Civil Judge KamalKant Gupta ordered Sanjay Singh to pay a compensation of ₹1 lakh to the BJP leader. It further directed the AAP leader to remove the defamatory content from social media platforms.“The defendant is directed to remove video footage and social media posts wherein he has used defamatory language against the plaintiff. The defendant is further directed to pay a compensation of ₹1 lakh to the plaintiff within two months. If the defendant fails to pay the same, the plaintiff shall be entitled to 6% p.a. interest from the date of this judgment to the actual date of payment,” ordered the Court. .Dr. Singh had filed a suit against Sanjay Singh in 2021 for alleged defamation and sought compensation. The former Uttar Pradesh minister alleged in his plea that Sanjay Singh had in August 2021 held a press conference in AAP’s Lucknow office and made malicious and baseless allegations against him.The suit further said that the remarks accusing Dr Singh of corruption were later circulated on the social media accounts of Sanjay Singh and his party. Since Sanjay Singh was not represented in the case by anyone, the Court proceeded ex-parte against him from April 13, 2022..After examining the records, the Court noted that Sanjay Singh had levelled allegations of corruption against Dr Singh on the basis of a communication made by BJP Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Ajay Kumar Singh. In this context, the Court looked into evidence affidavit filed by the BJP MLA stating that Sanjay Singh had misinterpreted his words and the allegations of corruption in his communication related to the period of earlier Samajwadi Party government and not the BJP-led dispensation. Further, the statements were found to be false in police investigation. Concluding there was no rational basis to level such charges against Dr. Singh, the Court said Sanjay Singh could have with due diligence gathered that the BJP MLA’s communication did not pertain to the former minister.“Though malicious intent cannot be ruled out, the defendant [Sanjay Singh] certainly acted with haste and negligence when he made categorical remarks naming a person,” it opined..The Court added that Sanjay Singh levelled corruption charges, called out names and did so repeatedly over the social media. “In view of this Court, an unsubstantiated false charge for corruption is defamatory enough for filing a civil action. In the present case the statements are categorically defamatory,” it held..Advocate Prashant Singh Atal represented the plaintiff.