Chandigarh, February 5
Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Amarinder Singh were today issued notices by UT Chief Judicial Magistrate C.L. Mohal for March 15, on a suit seeking Rs 5 crore as damages, filed by Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his son Sukhbir Singh Badal.
The Chief Minister and his son also deposited Rs 4, 90, 350 by way of court fee mandatory in such cases of defamation. The suit was filed through their counsel before UT Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Ashok Kumar around 10.30 a. m. The ACJM later referred the case to the court of Mr Mohal for hearing.
This was the second case filed by the Badal family. Yesterday, Mr Sukhbir Badal, also the general secretary of the Shiromani Akali Dal and MP, had filed a criminal defamation complaint against Capt Amarinder Singh claiming that he and his family were being defamed.
Today, Mr Parkash Singh Badal and his son sought the recovery of Rs 5 crore as damages along with interest for allegedly defamation through the publication of advertisements in various newspapers.
Accusing Mrs Gandhi of being responsible for the “defamatory advertisements”, they alleged that the PPCC chief got the same published with her active connivance.
Mr Parkash Singh Badal and his son also alleged that the advertisements had wrongly conveyed a message that the Punjab Chief Minister had mortgaged the state’s interest in the SYL canal, besides the future of Punjab’s farmers, in favour of the Haryana Chief Minister in lieu of a gift of 22 acres in Gurgaon worth Rs 500 crore.
Regarding the land in Gurgaon, they claimed that the allotment was made after the Haryana Government followed due procedure. No favour was shown in respect of the rate of land nor were procedures and formalities relaxed. “Moreover, the allotment had withstood the scrutiny of the courts and nothing irregular had been found in the entire transaction.
They claimed recovery on the ground that the allegation levelled by the Congress through the advertisements had harmed them in the estimation of others. The Badals further alleged that the Congress had done this with the motive of getting votes knowing that the material published was completely false to their knowledge.
Within a span of three days, this was the third case filed by the Shiromani Akali Dal alleging defamation at the hands of the Congress. Besides yesterday’s suit filed by Mr Sukhbir Badal, the general secretary of the local unit of the Shiromani Akali Dal, Mr N.S. Minhas, had filed a defamation complaint against the PPCC president on February 2. This case will come up for hearing on February 11.
