Defamation case: AAP's Sanjay Singh asked to pay ₹ 1 Lakh in damages

New Delhi: In a defamation lawsuit, a court in this city on Wednesday ordered AAP leader Sanjay Singh to compensate former Uttar Pradesh minister Mahendra Kumar Singh with ₹ 1 lakh.

AAP MP was ordered by Civil Judge (Senior Division) Kamla Kant Gupta to pay the damages within two months or face a six per cent interest charge on the amount owed.

The court had issued notice to Sanjay Singh, currently in jail in connection with the Delhi excise policy scam case, but he did not respond to it. Hence the court proceeded ex parte against him.

Addressing a press conference in Lucknow on August 8, 2021, the AAP leader had accused Mahendra Kumar Singh, the then Jal Shakti minister of Uttar Pradesh, of indulging in corruption in the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission.

Mahendra Kumar Singh subsequently filed a civil defamation suit against the AAP MP and sought ₹ 21 lakh in damages.

The court also directed the AAP leader to remove videos and print materials on his remarks from social media platforms.

Pronouncing the ex-parte verdict, the judge held that Sanjay Singh had made a defamatory statement against Mahendra Kumar Singh without any evidence or basis.

"The Indian Constitution ensures freedom of speech to every citizen, but it also imposes reasonable restriction on the use of this right," the court observed.

Holding that Sanjay Singh has to remove the defamatory contents from social media platforms, the court observed, "As far as compensation is concerned, it is difficult to value the respect of a person and loss caused to him by a defamatory statement. But having regard to the status of the parties, their area of work and in the facts of the case, ₹ 1 lakh compensation would be just and reasonable."

With PTI inputs