AAP Satyendra Jain defamation plea politically motivated BJP's Swaraj to court

New Delhi, Jan 13 (PTI) BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj on Monday said the defamation complaint filed against her by AAP's Satyendra Jain in a Delhi court was "politically motivated".
     Swaraj's counsel submitted before additional chief judicial magistrate Neha Mittal that the case's facts were available in the public domain and it couldn't be classified as defamation.
     "The timing in this case is important as the person is contesting an election. The petition is politically motivated and it has been filed to gain political advantage," the counsel said.
     Jain's lawyer opposed the submissions, calling Swaraj's statements "contrary to the facts".
     The court posted the hearing on January 22.
     Jain alleged Swaraj made defamatory remarks against him during an interview on a news channel on October 5, 2023 which was watched by millions.
     According to his complaint, Swaraj made "false claims" over the recovery of Rs 3 crore in cash besides 1.8 kilogram of gold and 133 gold coins from Jain's home.
     Swaraj made the false statements to gain undue political advantage and defame him by calling him "corrupt and fraud", alleged the complaint.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)