Court Takes Cognizance of Defamation Complaint Against Shashi Tharoor

A Rouse Avenue court has acknowledged a defamation complaint filed by BJP's Rajeev Chandrasekhar against Congress MP Shashi Tharoor. The case centers on Tharoor's alleged false statements about Chandrasekhar bribing voters, which purportedly damaged his reputation and contributed to his election loss.

The Rouse Avenue court has formally acknowledged a defamation complaint lodged by BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar against Congress MP Shashi Tharoor. Chandrasekhar accuses Tharoor of making false statements during an interview, alleging Chandrasekhar was bribing voters in the Thiruvananthapuram constituency, damaging his reputation and impacting the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Divya Malhotra has taken cognizance of the alleged offenses. She has set the matter for pre-summoning evidence on October 4, stating, 'On the basis of the submissions made and the material placed on record, which prima facie disclose the ingredients of the offense, I take cognizance of the offense(s) under Sections 500 IPC and 171G IPC.'

Chandrasekhar's legal representation included Senior Advocate Pramod Kumar Dubey and Vaibhav Gaggar. The complaint claims Tharoor falsely and derogatorily imputed on national television that Chandrasekhar was bribing voters, aiming to tarnish his reputation and influence the election outcome. The statements were broadcast by various news channels and circulated on social media, leading to a societal reputation loss that allegedly caused Chandrasekhar to lose the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

An application for filing an amended complaint was also approved by the court and taken on record. (ANI)

(With inputs from agencies.)