Delhi HC seeks Shashi Tharoor’s response on defamation plea by Rajeev Chandrasekhar

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday sought a response from Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on a defamation plea filed by Bharatiya Janata Party leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar, accusing him of making false and defamatory statements during the 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign, The Indian Express reported.

Chandrasekhar, the BJP’s Kerala unit chief, had approached the High Court challenging a magistrate court’s February order that dismissed his defamation complaint against Tharoor.

The BJP leader has alleged that Tharoor, during a television interview, falsely accused him of offering bribes to voters in Thiruvananthapuram ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Chandrasekhar added that the Congress MP made the claims with the deliberate intention of damaging his reputation and influencing the outcome of the general elections, despite knowing the statements were untrue, The Hindu reported.

Chandrasekhar lost the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat to Tharoor by over 16,000 votes in June.

In February, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Paras Dalal dismissed the BJP leader’s defamation complaint, saying there was no prima facie case against Tharoor and the remarks were shown out of context, The Hindu reported.

During the hearing on Tuesday, Chandrasekhar’s counsel argued that the lower court had overlooked key evidence while dismissing the defamation case.

Justice Ravinder Dudeja issued a notice to Tharoor on Chandrasekhar’s revision plea and sought the trial court’s records, the Bar and Bench reported.

The next hearing is on September...

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