Delhi HC exempts Smriti Irani from appearance in court in defamation case

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday exempted Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani from appearing before a trial court in a defamation case filed by Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam. [caption id=“attachment_2308718” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani. PTI[/caption] Justice Suresh Kaith granted exemption to Irani, who was to appear on 1 August. The high court posted for 13 August the plea of Irani against summons issued to her to appear in court. The court of a metropolitan magistrate had issued orders on 6 June. Appearing for Irani, senior advocate Maninder Singh and Anil Soni sought to quash the trial and the summoning order on the grounds that the case is “false”. Nirupam, a former MP, alleged that on 20 December, 2012, when Gujarat’s assembly poll results were announced, Irani had made “defamatory and scurrilous comments” against him during a TV debate. Irani too had also filed a similar complaint against the Congress leader for allegedly defaming her during the same debate aired on a private news channel. IANS