Before the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court, the BJP has filed a defamation action against Congressman Rahul Gandhi, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC).
The case was posted for recording the sworn testimony on July 27 by the special court created to handle criminal matters involving elected current and former MPs/MLAs. The court has taken cognizance of the charges under Sections 499 (defamation) and 500 (punishment for defamation) of the Indian Penal Code.
To all of the respondents, summonses were ordered to be issued on Tuesday in this respect.
S Keshavaprasad, the BJP’s state secretary, filed a private complaint on May 9 stating that incorrect statements in advertising have tarnished the party’s reputation.
The complaint states that the KPCC’s advertisement, which was published on May 5, 2023 in major newspapers ahead of the Assembly election and claimed that the BJP-led administration at the time had engaged in “40% corruption” and had stolen Rs 1.5 lakh crore over the previous four years, was “baseless, prejudiced, and defamatory,” was untrue.
