Isro spying case: Court to consider defamation complaint on 26 Nov

New Delhi: A Delhi court today fixed November 26 for considering the criminal defamation complaint filed by former IPS officer R B Sreekumar against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, BJP President Rajnath Singh and two others over attacks on him in the ISRO spying case. Sreekumar, who retired as the Director General of Gujarat Police, had on November 19 also named BJP’s spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi and Nambi Narayanan, a retired scientist of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), as accused in his complaint. [caption id=“attachment_1242585” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Narendra Modi’s defamation row will come up for hearing soon. PTI[/caption] During the hearing today, Metropolitan Magistrate Akash Jain posted it for November 26 after advocate Vijay Aggarwal, who appeared for Narayanan, said Sreekumar’s petition is misguiding the court and it is based on “falsity”. “The court is being misguided. They (Sreekumar) are quoting false provisions of law. Offence of perjury has been committed,” Aggarwal claimed in the court. He also said he has come to know about the defamation case through the media reports as Sreekumar had openly told the scribes about it. “They (Sreekumar) are stating incorrect laws to the court and that is why it is perjury,” he said. The court, however, told him that it would go through the facts mentioned in the complaint. “Let me first go through what are the facts in the complaint,” the magistrate said. Advocate Brijesh Kalappa, who appeared for Sreekumar, told the court that his client is the complainant and the court should first hear him. To this, Aggarwal said the court cannot proceed with the matter or pass any order without hearing him. The magistrate said “I am not saying that I will not hear you (Aggarwal).” Aggarwal, however, told the court that he would advance his arguments at 3.30 pm today but Sreekumar’s counsel urged the court to fix the matter for November 26. “On request, put up for consideration on November 26,” the court said. In his complaint, Sreekumar has alleged the accused hatched a conspiracy and on November 7, Lekhi gave statements harming his reputation “by digging out an old closed case of 1994 related to espionage affecting the national interests of the country”. PTI