A Delhi court on Wednesday closed a defamation case against AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh after he offered an unconditional apology to plaintiff Ankit Bhardwaj, Delhi State executive member of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM).
Recording his statement before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal, Mr. Singh said that he apologised to Mr. Bhardwaj, stating that he had in confusion named him as the person who slapped sacked Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra when he was on a dharna on May 10, 2017.
Mr. Bhardwaj, who was also present in the court, had sought nominal damages of ₹1 from Mr. Singh.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was also an accused in the case, but the court had not taken cognisance of the charges against him.
In his suit, Mr. Bhardwaj alleged that Mr. Singh had defamed him by claiming in his tweets that he had slapped Mr. Mishra.
The court had framed charges against Mr. Singh, saying there was enough evidence against him to start the trial proceedings. Mr. Singh had at that time pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Earlier, a different court had refused to hear the case saying that it did not have the jurisdiction. Later, Mr. Bhardwaj filed a fresh a complaint before the competent court.
