Pay Rs 1 lakh compensation to UP ex-minister: Court to Sanjay Singh

As per the order of the court, the AAP MP on August 8, 2021 held a press conference in Lucknow and made “false, fallacious, baseless” allegations and remarks against the former UP minister and the BJP “only to gain cheap publicity and political mileage”. The video feed of the press conference was broadcast on TV channels and later posted on social media platforms. The BJP leader alleged that Sanjay Singh had during the press conference referred to him as “corrupted”, “Natwarlal”, and “paani chor”.

“The Indian Constitution ensures freedom of speech to every citizen, but it also imposes reasonable restrictions on the use of this right,” said the judge.

The court’s order said that summons were served to the defendant, but due to Sanjay Singh not appearing, the case was proceeded ex-parte.

Sanjay Singh, during the press conference, alleged that the state Jal Shakti Ministry had awarded contracts worth thousands of crores in a Jal Jeevan mission to a company with a “tainted image.”

After going through evidence in the case, the court deduced that Sanjay Singh made “defamatory statements against the plaintiff” and that allegations levelled by Sanjay Singh “have been found to be false in the police investigation”.

The court also said that “although malicious intent cannot be ruled out, the defendant certainly acted with haste and negligence when he made categorical remarks naming a person”.

“In view of this court, an unsubstantiated false charge for corruption is defamatory enough for filing a civil action,” said the judge.

“In the present case, the statements are categorically defamatory. The evidence of Prosecution Witness-3 and Prosecution Witness-4 shows how the same had lowered the esteem of the plaintiff in their eyes, though the same was later restored. The evidence on record stands unrebutted. There is nothing on record to disbelieve the same,” the court said.

According to the complaint, the said allegations were “made in thin air” and are “devoid of any merit” intended to “belittle his respectable image in public life”.

According to the petition filed by Mahendra Singh, Sanjay Singh “falsely alleged that the plaintiff has done corruption to the tune of Rs 30,000 crore in the Jal Jeevan Mission Yojna along with the other officers of his department”.