Delhi HC issues notice in Mahua Moitra's plea to quash summoning order in Zee Media defamation case

The Delhi High Court today issued notice in Mahua Moitra's plea seeking a direction to quash summoning order passed against her in criminal defamation case by Zee Media Corporation Ltd..Notice to Zee Media and State Government was issued by a Single Judge Bench of Justice Vibhu Bakhru. .In September last year, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) at Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court had summoned the Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP in Zee Media's defamation case..Mahua Moitra summoned by Delhi Court in defamation case by Zee News.Zee News had moved the Court against Moitra after she allegedly called Zee News ‘chor‘ (thief) and paid news..Zee Media files defamation case against Mahua Moitra for calling Zee News chor, paid news.Mahua had sought her discharge as an accused in the matter but the ACMM rejected the plea on the ground that it had no power under Section 251 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 to discharge an accused in a Complaint Case..Subsequently, on January 10, 2020, notice was framed and fixed the matter for Complainant’s evidence..Aggrieved by the criminal proceedings, Moitra moved the High Court. .In her plea before the Court, Moitra has asserted that the ACMM erred in passing the order of summon as well as framing of notice as it failed to take into account the requisite intention and context behind making the allegedly defamatory statements. . It is contended that the ACMM ought not to have "acted as a post office" and that no notice could have been framed when no offence was made out in the facts and circumstances of the present case.."..it is wholly erroneous in law to state that a Magistrate has no option but to frame notice, despite an accused entering appearance before a Ld. Judge and demonstrating prima facie that the order issuing summons did not take into account material facts.", the plea states. .Moitra has further asserted that by holding that a Magistrate has no power to discharge an accused at the stage of Section 251 CrPC on a case instituted on a complaint, the ACMM committed a jurisdictional error. .It is also claimed that the defamation proceedings were initiated by Zee Media merely as a counterblast to Moitra's complaint against Sudhir Chaudhary, the Editor-in-Chief of Zee News—one of the major news channels owned by the Zee Media. .Delhi Court summons Sudhir Chaudhary in criminal defamation case by Mahua Moitra.Zee Media opposed the plea on the ground that there was a delay in filing the challenge to the summoning order which was passed last year. .Zee Media also argued that there was no need to stay the proceedings before the ACMM as recording of evidence before trial court were anyway suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic. .After hearing the parties, the Court issued notice and sought response from the Respondents. .Senior Advocate Vikas Pahwa with Advocates Adit S Pujari and Chaitanya Sundriyal appeared for Moitra. .Advocate Vijay Aggarwal with Advocates Mudit Jain and Yugant Sharma represented Zee Media. .The matter would be heard next on October 6.