Devendra Fadnavis’s defamation plea: Court issues notice to 2 lawyers

Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis

A local court on Monday issued a notice to two lawyers in connection with a criminal defamation complaint filed against them by former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for allegedly circulating a press note containing false statements.

The BJP leader had filed the complaint before a metropolitan magistrate earlier this month claiming the press note issued by the two lawyers Satish Uke and Sameer Sheikh - contained statements against him that were false and maligned his character. Fadnavis had recorded his statement before the magistrate on May 18.

On Monday, Magistrate N N Joshi issued a notice to the two lawyers and directed them to appear before the court on July 16. The press note, circulated in March by the two lawyers, had sought to link Fadnavis to the killing of architect Eknath Nimgadi, in Nagpur on September 6, 2016, over a plot of land.

Fadnavis's complaint stated that the note contained "false statements and imputations which harmed and lowered my reputation". It said the note was circulated on social media platforms and many innocent people would tend to get misguided and misled by such blatantly false allegations. Fadnavis has sought the court to initiate action against the lawyers for defamation.

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