Delhi court dismisses defamation case against Congress MP Shashi Tharoor

A Delhi court on Tuesday rejected a criminal complaint filed by BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who had accused Congress MP Shashi Tharoor of defamation. Additional chief judicial magistrate Paras Dalal refused to summon Tharoor saying prima facie "no ingredients of defamation" was made in the complaint.

Chandrasekhar accused Tharoor of defamation, claiming that the Congress MP made false and derogatory remarks on national television, alleging that the BJP leader had bribed voters in the Thiruvananthapuram constituency during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Tharoor, said Chandrasekhar, made the allegations with the intent to lower his reputation and to impact the result of the last general elections while knowing fully well that the statements were



false".

"The interview(s) was/were published by various news channels as well as on social media platforms at the behest of the proposed accused and resulted in loss of reputation of the complainant in the society, which ultimately resulted in the complainant losing the Lok Sabha Elections, 2024," his complaint said.

The court on September 21, 2024 took cognisance of the complaint.

In a related development, the Delhi High Court on Monday summoned Tharoor in a defamation suit where Chandrasekhar sought Rs 10 crore in damages for loss of reputation.

Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav posted the matter on April 28. "Let the plaint be registered as a suit. Issue summons to the defendant (Tharoor). List before the joint registrar on April 28," said the court.