Delhi Court summons Sudhir Chaudhary in criminal defamation case by Mahua Moitra

The Court of Metropolitan Magistrate Preeti Parewa today issued summons to Zee News Editor-in-Chief Sudhir Chaudhary in the defamation case filed against him by Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra..As per the order, Sudhir Chaudhary has been directed to appear before the court on January 29, 2020..Mahua Moitra had filed the criminal defamation case after Chaudhary alleged that Moitra’s June 25 speech in Parliament on the ‘Seven Signs of Fascism’, was plagiarized..In her pre-summoning statement before the Court, Moitra had called the allegations of plagiarism false, baseless and malicious. Moitra had asserted that in her speech, she “specifically mentioned and attributed” that the signs were taken from a longer list of signs available on a poster in the Holocaust Museum in the USA..She deposed that Sudhir Chaudhary’s allegation that she had copied the work of one Martin Longman was intended to severely and irreversibly damage and lower her credibility, reputation and impeccable integrity..Moitra alleged that in his evening prime time show, DNA, which is aired all over India, Chaudhary personally attacked her for the speech and made “defamatory imputations and comments” against her, both in her personal and professional capacity..While pre-summoning evidence was pending, Chaudhary has approached the Metropolitan Magistrate by filing an application under Section 340 CrPC to initiate criminal action against Moitra for her “false” criminal defamation case and for “playing fraud” with the court. However, when the MM refused to stall the proceedings in view of the application, Chaudhary moved the Additional Sessions Court, which stayed the proceedings before the MM..Aggrieved by the stay, Moitra moved the Delhi High Court. The Single Judge Bench of Justice Brijesh Sethi set aside the stay on proceedings last month..Moitra is represented by Advocates Shadaan Farasat and Adit S Pujari..Sudhir Chaudhary is represented by Advocate Vijay Aggarwal.