Bajrang Punia exempted from appearing personally in defamation case
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New Delhi: A Delhi court on Thursday exempted wrestler Bajrang Punia from making a personal appearance in a criminal defamation case brought by wrestling coach Naresh Dahiya.
Punia was given relief by Metropolitan Magistrate Yashdeep Chahal after his lawyer stated to the court that Punia had travelled to Kyrgyzstan for training and the upcoming Asian Games.
The judge had earlier granted him exemption from personal appearance on September 6 for a day on medical grounds after his counsel said he was suffering from fever.
The judge had on August 3 directed Punia to appear before the court on September 6, noting that "prima facie" he is suspected of defaming the coach.
Dahiya has claimed Punia, along with other wrestlers/ persons, made defamatory remarks against him at a press conference at Jantar Mantar on May 10 during a protest against alleged sexual harassment of some women wrestlers by the outgoing Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
With PTI inputs