Supreme Court Lets Chouhan Skip Court in Defamation Case by Vivek Tankha

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court decided to let Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan avoid going to a trial court related to a defamation case against him. This case was filed by Congress MP Vivek Tankha, who is also a lawyer. Tankha claims that Chouhan, along with BJP state president V D Sharma and former minister Bhupendra Singh, ran a false campaign against him for political gain. They accused him of being against OBC reservation in the 2021 Panchayat elections in Madhya Pradesh.

The Supreme Court postponed the hearing to March 26. Chouhan is trying to challenge a decision made by the Madhya Pradesh High Court that would not dismiss the defamation case. While Chouhan’s lawyer, Mahesh Jethmalani, argued that statements made during legislative sessions are protected by the Constitution, Tankha’s legal representatives questioned why the BJP leaders did not show up in court.

Tankha is seeking Rs 10 crore in compensation, claiming that the BJP leaders’ false statements have damaged his reputation. The BJP leaders denied these claims, stating that newspaper articles mentioned by Tankha should not be valid evidence for a defamation case. On January 20, 2024, a court in Jabalpur agreed to review the defamation case and issued a summons for the three BJP leaders.