New Delhi, 21 August : Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot appeared in Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court today through video conferencing in the defamation case filed by union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. Additional Metropolitan Magistrate Harjeet Singh Jaspal posted the matter for further hearing on August 28.
On August 19, the sessions judge of the Rouse Avenue Court extended the interim relief granted to Gehlot, that is, the exemption to appear in court through video conferencing, until September 16.
On July 6, Additional Metropolitan Magistrate Harjeet Singh Jaspal issued summons to Ashok Gehlot in a criminal defamation case filed by Shekhawat. The court had ordered Gehlot to appear in court on August 7. This order of Additional Metropolitan Magistrate Harjeet Singh Jaspal has been challenged by Gehlot in the Sessions Court. On August 6, the Sessions Court did not grant any relief to Gehlot and allowed him to appear before the Additional Metropolitan Magistrate through video conferencing. After this order, on August 7, also, Gehlot appeared before the Additional Metropolitan Magistrate through video conferencing.
The Delhi Police filed its investigation report with the court on May 25. In this case, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said in his statement to the court that he had nothing to do with the Sanjeevani scam. Shekhawat had said that the investigating agencies did not consider him an accused; false allegations were levelled against him. Shekhawat had said that Ashok Gehlot levelled false allegations against him to malign his image.
The petition states that Ashok Gehlot made a public statement that the allegations against Shekhawat in the Sanjeevani Cooperative Society scam have been proved in the investigation by the Special Operation Group (SOG). It has been said in the petition that Chief Minister Gehlot tweeted that the Sanjivani Cooperative Society looted the hard-earned money of about one lakh people. In this scam, an allegation of misappropriation of about nine hundred crore rupees has been made.
The petition states that Gehlot said in his tweet that the ED has the right to confiscate the property and not the SOG. SOG has requested ED several times to confiscate the property of Sanjivani Cooperative Society, but ED did not take any action, whereas ED is continuously taking action against the leaders of the opposition. Gehlot told Shekhawat in his tweet that if you are innocent, then come forward and return the money of the people.
The petition states that Chief Minister Gehlot tried to defame Shekhawat by associating her name with a cooperative society in which neither he nor any member of his family is a depositor in that society.
