Delhi Court Imposes Costs On AAP Leader's Wife Over Non-Appearance In Defamation Case Against Nirmala Sitharaman

A Delhi Court today imposed costs of Rs. 5,000 on Aam Aadmi Party leader Somnath Bharti's wife for failing to appear in a criminal defamation case filed by her against Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

ACJM Paras Dalal of Rouse Avenue Courts noted that none appeared on behalf of the complainant- Lipika Mitra, despite repeated calls and passed over the matter at 2:30 PM.

In the post lunch session, none again was present on behalf of Mitra, either in Court or on VC. On this, the judge ordered:

“As per last order, date and time was fixed as per convenience of both the sides. In view of none appearance, cost of Rs.5,000/- is imposed on the complainant to be deposited with Central Delhi Court Bar Association.”

The Court has granted last opportunity to Mitra to comply with the previous order to file reply and address arguments.

The matter is now listed for arguments on August 02 at 2 PM.

The complainant, Lipika Mitra, filed the criminal defamation case against Sitharaman alleging commission of offences under Section 356(1) and 356(2) of BNS, 2023 for allegedly making and publishing defamatory, derogatory and libelous remarks in print and electronic media against her.

The complaint alleges that Sitharaman has made defamatory, false, and malicious statements in a press conference published on YouTube, which was broadcasted on Republic TV and NDTV news channels on May 17.

Mitra has alleged that Sitharaman's statements were made by her during the election campaign of Loksabha, 2024, with the sole intention to tarnish her husband's reputation, and weaken his chances of winning from New Delhi Parliamentary Constituency as India Alliance Candidate.

The complaint says that the alleged statements have caused immense mental anguish to Bharti and damaged his public standing as an elected representative.

“The accused deliberately is trying to cause larger damage to the marriage which complainant and her husband have successfully saved and in turn is also causing mental agony not only to the complainant and her husband but also to their children. The accused thus attempted to, tarnish the reputation of the Complainant's husband and damage his social standing and goodwill in the society,” the complaint reads.