New Delhi, Apr 1 A Delhi court on Wednesday issued a "notice of accusation" to BJP MLA Karnail Singh in a criminal defamation complaint filed by AAP leader Satyendar Jain, saying there is no reason to hold that the accusation is groundless.
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Paras Dalal was hearing a complaint, which was at the stage of an order on putting a notice of accusation to the accused.
"Now, in the facts and circumstances of the present case, the accused side has not presented any fact or argument to show that the accusation is groundless, and since the order on issuance of process dated January 6, 2026, there has been no new argument from the accused side to discharge the accused," the court said.
It said all the ingredients of defamation were prima facie established by Jain in his complaint and by his witnesses' testimonies, which were sufficient to proceed with the trial.
"Accordingly, there is no reason to hold that the accusation is groundless and sufficient material exists in the present case to put notice of accusation to the accused under section 274 (substance of accusation to be stated) of the BNSS. Accused (Singh) to be present before this court on the next date of hearing on April 8 ... for putting up notice of accusation to him without fail," the court said.
According to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) provision, "When in a summons-case the accused appears or is brought before the magistrate, the particulars of the offence of which he is accused shall be stated to him, and he shall be asked whether he pleads guilty or has any defence to make, but it shall not be necessary to frame a formal charge."
The court then added, "Both parties are reminded that the present special court is set up for expeditious trial of cases against sitting and former MPs/MLAs, and as such, matters are to be fixed once every week, and adjournments are not to be granted except for exceptional circumstances."
The court took cognisance of the complaint in January, saying there were "sufficient grounds to proceed" in the case, besides directing "issuance of process" (notice) to Singh.
Jain has accused Singh of damaging his reputation during a television interview on January 19 last year.
According to the complaint, Singh made a defamatory statement in the interview. Singh had allegedly claimed that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had recovered 37 kg of gold from Jain's home and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader had 1,100 acres of land in his name, bought with wealth amassed from corruption and money laundering.
