New Delhi, 13 December (Udaipur Kiran) – A witness statement has been recorded in the criminal defamation case filed against Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at the Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi. The court has scheduled the next hearing for 24 December.
The petitioner in the case, Lipika Mitra, is the wife of Aam Aadmi Party leader Somnath Bharti. During the hearing, the statement of witness Manju Bansal was recorded on behalf of Lipika Mitra. Earlier, on 29 November, the statement of another witness, Satish Kumar Nangia, was recorded for the petitioner.
On 8 October, the court had rejected Nirmala Sitharaman’s request to revoke Somnath Bharti’s power of attorney as a lawyer representing Lipika Mitra in the case.
The court had issued a notice to Sitharaman on 23 May after hearing Lipika Mitra’s petition. The petition alleges that Sitharaman made derogatory remarks against Lipika Mitra during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections through print and electronic media. It states that on 17 May 2024, Sitharaman referred to a marital dispute between Lipika Mitra and Somnath Bharti for political gain.
The petition claims that Sitharaman’s statement was intended to tarnish Somnath Bharti’s image and prevent him from winning the 2024 general elections. Somnath Bharti was the Aam Aadmi Party candidate from the New Delhi constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Lipika Mitra contends that the sole purpose of Sitharaman’s remarks was to politically damage Somnath Bharti, which caused distress to the petitioner. The plea seeks to restrain Sitharaman from making such statements and demands a retraction of the remarks issued by her.
(Udaipur Kiran)
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