AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, who is already in jail in the Delhi liquor policy case, is facing more legal trouble after a Lucknow court imposed a Rs 1 lakh fine on him in a defamation case. On Wednesday, January 3, a Lucknow Court ordered Sanjay Singh to pay Rs 1 Lakh as compensation to former Uttar Pradesh minister Mahendra Singh in a defamation case.
In an order, Civil Judge (Senior Division) Kamla Kant Gupta directed the AAP MP to pay the damages within two months, following which an interest of six per cent will be imposed on the amount. The order was passed on the suit filed by former Jal Shakti minister Mahendra Singh around 2 years ago in response to Sanjay Singh’s defamatory and derogatory remarks accusing Mahendra Singh.
The court had issued a notice to Sanjay Singh, but he did not respond to it, therefore, the court proceeded ex-parte against him.
The court has also asked Sanjay Singh to remove the videos and defamatory remarks from his social media feed where he had accused the former minister of corruption without any basis.
Sanjay Singh had accused Mahendra Singh, the then Jal Shakti minister of Uttar Pradesh, of indulging in corruption in the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission. The AAP leader made the accusation while addressing a press conference in Lucknow on August 8, 2021.
Sanjay Singh had also tweeted about the same allegations from his social media handle.
मैं मंत्री महेंद्र सिंह से पूछना चाहता हूँ की सरकार के 2 विभागों में एक ही काम के रेट में ज़मीन- आसमान का फर्क क्यों? ये महाघोटाला नहीं तो और क्या है । pic.twitter.com/1WUbplLytl
— Sanjay Singh AAP (@SanjayAzadSln) August 18, 2021
Sanjay Singh is currently in jail
In October last year, the Enforcement Directorate arrested Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh following 10-hour-long raids at his residence in Delhi. The probe agency raided the AAP MP’s house and questioned him in relation to the ongoing investigation into a money laundering case linked to the Delhi liquor policy case.
Notably, Sanjay Singh’s name had appeared multiple times in the charge sheet filed by the ED. According to the charge sheet, Dinesh Arora, who has turned approver, had met Arvind Kejriwal in the presence of Sanjay Singh. In a statement, Arora told ED he met Singh at an event and later came in touch with former Deputy CM of Delhi, Manish Sisodia.
