A special court has granted exemption to Madhya Pradesh BJP chief VD Sharma, former state chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and ex-state minister Bhupendra Singh from appearing in person in a criminal defamation case until June 7.
The court's decision came during the hearing of a plea by the BJP leaders in response to a defamation suit filed against them by Congress' Rajya Sabha member and senior Supreme Court advocate Vivek Tankha.
Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Vishveshwari Mishra of the special court, tasked with cases involving MPs and MLAs, issued the exemption on Friday, as confirmed by Shiv Kumar Shrivastava, the counsel for the respondents.
"In defamation cases, respondents are typically required to attend court hearings in person. However, the BJP leaders had requested exemption citing their engagement in the Lok Sabha elections," Shrivastava explained.
Chouhan and Sharma are BJP candidates for the Vidisha and Khajuraho Lok Sabha seats, respectively. Madhya Pradesh is scheduled to hold elections in four phases between April 19 and May 13.
Congress Rajya Sabha MP Tankha has alleged that the BJP leaders tarnished his reputation by falsely claiming his involvement in a Supreme Court case concerning Other Backward Classes (OBC) quota in panchayat elections in 2021.
Tankha, a former MP advocate general, stated that he had not participated in any court proceedings related to OBC reservation nor had he filed any petition on the issue.
In addition to the criminal defamation suit, the Congress leader has filed a civil defamation suit seeking Rs 10 crore in damages against Sharma, Chouhan, and Singh.
On January 19, the court ordered the registration of the defamation suit after finding sufficient evidence to proceed to trial.
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