New Delhi, Sep 20 A Delhi Court on Tuesday dismissed the application of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot seeking acquittal in a defamation case.
Counsel for Gehlot moved an application seeking his acquittal in the matter at hand, citing the absence of the complainant Gajendra Singh Shekhawat during two hearings August 7 andAugust 21.
He contended that the law u/s 256 Cr.PC warrants that in the absence of the respondent on anydate, without a justifiable cause,which is admitted by the court in the form of an order on exemption application of the complainant, the accused ought to be acquitted in a complaint case.
Counsel for Shekhawat submitted that Section 256 Cr.PC is applicable only when the matter is pending for evidence of the complainant and not prior thereto. He said, “The stage of Section 256 Cr.PC commences only after framing of notice and not before. Since in the matter at hand no notice has yet been framed, no question of application of Section 256 Cr.PC arises”.
He further submitted that Section 256 Cr.PC cannot be used in retrospect that is to say that on the day when the complainant was not present, no application
under the said section was moved by the counsels for the accused and moving an application at the belated stage would not warrant any favourable adjudication for the applicants/the accused.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Harjeet Singh Jaspal after hearing arguments on behalf of both sides said; “the discretion provided by Section 256 Cr.PC can be exercised only in a situations where the court believes that the absence of the complainant is deliberate and is being caused to prolong the suffering of the accused by continued trial. In the matter at hand, it does not appear
to be the case”.
The court observed that on both the said dates the counsels for the complainant were present and therefore, the personal attendance of the complainant was not necessary to take the matter forward.
Therefore, acquitting the accused may not be a proper exercise of discretion u/s 256 Cr.PC., “sothe application at hand stands dismissed”.
In this matter, Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat had filed a defamation complaint before the District court of Rouse Avenue, New Delhi against Gehlot alleging that the Rajasthan CM has “defamed” him and “falsely accused” him of being involved in the Rs 900 crore Sanjivani Credit Society scam.
He contended that his name did not appear anywhere when the Rajasthan government investigated the matter.
It is alleged by Shekhawat that the accused, by way of press conferences, media report/social media posts, etc. has publicly stated that not only the complainant and his family members are accused in the Sanjeevani scam, but also that the allegations against the complainant, in the saidscam, stand proved.
His counsel also alleged that the accused on different occasions addressed the media and also uploaded videos and posts on his social media accounts “to maliciously defame” the complainant by way of false statements, particularly stating that the allegations against the complainant in Sanjeevani scam stand proved and that the crime, of misappropriation/embezzlement of money belonging to poor and innocent investors, has been proved against the complainant.
