Former Gurugram Police Commissioner Files Defamation Suit Against Judge

Former Gurugram police commissioner Krishan Kumar Rao has initiated a defamation suit against a judge who made adverse remarks against him in a judicial order. Rao seeks Rs 1 crore in damages. The court will reconsider the case on November 21. The judge's comments pertained to a high-profile heist case, implicating Rao indirectly.

Former Gurugram police commissioner Krishan Kumar Rao has filed a defamation suit against a judge for ''adverse remarks'' made against him in a judicial order, seeking Rs 1 crore in damages.

The suit was filed in the court of Additional Civil Judge (Senior Division) Vikramjit Singh on Monday, with the hearing also held on the same day. The court has decided to take up the matter again on November 21.

''The suit seeking compensation and damages from and against the defendant and to restrain the defendants from maligning and defaming the plaintiff in any manner has been received. It be checked and registered. Now, matter stands adjourned for 21.11.2024 for consideration on the point of maintainability of the suit,'' read the court order.

According to the senior IPS officer, Additional District and Sessions Judge Amit Sahrawat had made the adverse remarks while rejecting former deputy commissioner of Gurugram police Dheeraj Setia's bail application in connection with a multi-crore heist in February 2022.

The judge's comments hinted at Rao's implicit consent to the actions of Setia, who was accused of accepting bribes to derail investigations, casting a shadow over Rao's oversight.

Rao argued that the judge's remarks were based on conjecture and had no judicial basis, stating that the comments were personal in nature and unrelated to the bail adjudication.

The petition further claimed that the comments were not protected under the Judges Protection Act since they did not pertain to the judge's official duties.

This case stems from an incident on August 4, 2021, where gangsters stole crores of rupees in cash from a flat used as office space by a private company.

The main suspect in the heist, Sachinder Jain Naval, alleged that he bribed Setia with Rs 2.5 crore to hush up the case, although Setia purportedly returned most of the bribe.

(With inputs from agencies.)