Raghav Chadha criminal defamation: Delhi Leader of Opposition moves Delhi High Court against summons

Senior BJP Leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, Ramvir Singh Biduri has moved Delhi High Court challenging the summoning order passed by a lower court against him and other BJP leaders, in a criminal defamation case filed by Aam Aadmi Party leader Raghav Chadha (Ramvir Singh Biduri v Delhi Jal Board and Ors)..Biduri along with Delhi BJP Chief Adesh Gupta, MLA Vijender Gupta and party spokesperson Harish Khurana had held press conferences on January 21 and 23 alleging several irregularities to the tune of ₹26,000 crores in the functioning of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB). They had also referred to the DJB as the Dalali Jal Board..In March, Chadha who is also the vice-president of the Delhi Jal Board, had filed a complaint before the Rouse Avenue Court which issued summons to the BJP leaders on November 18..Biduri's petition, filed through advocates Neeraj and Satya Ranjan Swain, has argued that being the Leader of the Opposition, he has been at the forefront of exposing irregularities in the working of the Delhi government which, essentially, is the job of an opposition in a democracy.“That in fact the basis of election of Aam Aadmi Party to which the Respondent No. 2 (Chadha) belongs and is part of the Ministry, was eradication of corruption in public space and also to ensure that all those who had done such acts are dealt by judicial process to ensure corruption free society. In such a situation, if there appears even an iota of any act of corruption, then it's the duty of members of opposition to bring the facts to the knowledge of the public I electorate and place the facts in public domain. Such revelations by no stretch of imagination can be construed as defaming when the said revelations and comments only deal with the public act of the person concerned and no further,” the petition said..The petition further contended that issues of financial irregularities in the Delhi Jal Board were raised based on facts and documents in good faith and in the larger public interest.“That it is a matter of fact that several crores were given by the Govt ofNCT of Delhi to the Respondent No. 1 i.e. the Delhi Jal Board in the form of Loans, Grants and Extra Budgetary Borrowing in the tenure of the AamAadmi Party and till date, no audit has been done of the said amount by the CAG, as per the statutory requirement, because the Complainant No. 1 has not provided the accounts of the FY 2015-16 till date in spite of CAG's multiple letters and reminders,” it said..The Delhi High Court is likely to hear the case on Wednesday.