The Allahabad High Court has ruled against international shooter Vartika Singh's plea challenging Sultanpur Special MP/MLA Court's October 2022 order to dismiss her defamation complaint against Union Cabinet Minister for Women & Child Development, Smriti Zubin Irani.
The Lucknow bench of the high court, in its decision issued on March 5 and uploaded on Monday, upheld the Sultanpur Special MP/MLA Court's October 2022 order, stating that remarks made about Singh's alleged association with the Congress party or the "Gandhi family" did not constitute defamation.
Justice Mohd Faiz Alam, presiding over the bench, affirmed the trial court's reasoning for not summoning Irani to face trial under section 499/500 IPC, citing insufficient grounds to proceed with the defamation case.
Singh had initially filed a case in the Sultanpur MP/MLA court, accusing Irani of defamation after the minister allegedly labeled her as a criminal element with ties to the Congress party and the Gandhi family.
However, the special court dismissed Singh's complaint on October 21, 2022, citing lack of merit.
In response, Singh moved the High Court, filing a plea under Section 482 CrPC.
Quoting Irani's statements during interactions with journalists, the high court noted that while discussing other matters, Irani did not mention Singh by name.
When queried about Singh's alleged association with the Congress party, Irani reportedly remarked on Singh's criminal history, citing five registered criminal cases, and referring to her as a "pawn (piyada) of Congress" with direct ties to the Gandhi family.
However, the High Court noted that the alleged statements were part of Irani's long interaction with media persons in response to the question posed by the media person and in none of the two statements, Irani took Singh's name.The ruling underscores the legal intricacies surrounding defamation cases and the standards for proving defamation in the Indian legal system.
The Court also added that Irani's alleged statement linking Singh to the 'Gandhi Family' would also not amount to defamation as the Gandhi family has a legacy of political personalities like Jawahar Lal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.
Against this backdrop, the Court dismissed Singh's application moved under Section 482 CrPC.
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