Court Issues Notice To AAP's Saurabh Bharadwaj in Defamation Complaint Filed By Delhi Minister Manjinder Sirsa

New Delhi: The Rouse Avenue Court on Thursday issued notices to AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj and MLAs Sanjeev Jha and Kapil Kumar in a defamation complaint filed by Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa.

Sirsa has filed a defamation complaint naming these AAP leaders, saying these proposed accused during a press conference levelled false allegations of Gullak Chori, Rice theft and a scam which harmed his and his family's reputation globally.

Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) issued notice to Saurabh Bharadwaj, Sanjeev Jha and Kuldeep Kumar to give them an opportunity to file their response to the Complaint at the pre-cognisance stage.

The matter has been listed for hearing on November 18.

Advocate Yogender Handoo appeared for Manjinder Singh Sirsa during the recording of the statement.

The court issued notices after recording the statement of Sirsa and three witnesses, Abhisek Sharma, Gurdev Singh and Gurjeet Singh.

In his statement, Sirsa said that during a press conference, false allegations of Gullak Chori, Chawal Chori (rice theft) and a scam were levelled against him, which harmed his reputation globally.

He said that false Allegations of Gullak Chori of Rs. 400-450 crores, Rs 600 crore from Chawal Chori every month, and a scam of Rs 11000 crores were levelled against him.

The allegations were published in the media and on social media, Sirsa said, adding that after this the people associated with him started questioning the false allegations.

Gullak chori is the worst word that can be attributed to a sikh. Gullak has significance in Sikhism, the Delhi Minister said.

He also submitted that it is not the first time Bhardwaj made the allegations. "He used the word Gullak Chor several times against him in the past also."

As this word, Gullak Chori, is one of the worst forms of sin that can be attributed to a person in Sikhism. Now, coupled with the false Allegations of Chawal Chori, people are questioning me about this. It is questioning the integrity of my family and me, Sirsa said.

He further said, "People who are closely associated with me and know me very well for the past many years started avoiding and also questioning the allegations of a scam of thousands of crores. They were raising questions to me about the Allegations of me making Rs 400 crore in Gullak Chori."

"I have always been looked upon as a man of reputation and impeccability, and the manner in which the matter has been published and portrayed by the proposed accused injured my reputation immensely beyond repair. The false Allegations and imputations have also lowered my image and reputation worldwide, especially among the people associated with Sikhism and activities of Gurudwara," Sirsa said in the statement.

Sirsa also said that he served a legal notice to Bharadwaj, Sanjeev Jha to withdraw and retract the allegations publicly and publicly apologise for harming his reputation.