Himachal court summons Sisodia in defamation case

A court in Himachal Pradesh’s Una district on Tuesday issued a summons to AAP leader Manish Sisodia in connection with an alleged defamation case filed by a former State president of the party and directed him to appear before it on May 12.

The case was filed by Anoop Kesari, a lawyer from Una, who, along with his supporters, quit the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2022.

Kesari, who was then the president of AAP’s Himachal unit, has alleged in his complaint that after he left the party, Sisodia, out of frustration, held a press conference in Delhi on April 9, 2022, and levelled serious allegations against him.

According to Kesari, no evidence or proof was presented to substantiate these allegations.

Feeling aggrieved by “this act of character assassination carried out from a public platform without any supporting evidence”, Kesari approached the Una court.

After examining the petitioner’s arguments and evidence, the court issued a summons to the former deputy chief minister of Delhi and directed him to appear on May 12.