The Himachal Pradesh High Court issued a notice to Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu in response to civil defamation suits filed by Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Davinder Kumar and independent MLA Hoshyar Singh, who is also aligned with the BJP
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Himachal Pradesh: The Himachal Pradesh High Court issued a notice to Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu in response to civil defamation suits filed by Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Davinder Kumar and independent MLA Hoshyar Singh, who is also aligned with the BJP.
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The defamation suits were brought forth by Davinder Kumar, a former Congress MLA disqualified for defying the party whip, and Hoshyar Singh, an independent MLA. Both have now joined the BJP. Kumar, the BJP candidate for the Kutlehar assembly constituency bypoll, and Singh, who had tendered his resignation to join the BJP but whose resignation has not been accepted, seek redress for alleged defamatory remarks made by CM Sukhu.
Justice Jyotsna Rewal Dua heard the civil suits on May 22, 2024, and listed the matter for further consideration on June 18, 2024.
The court order stated,
“In view of allegations leveled in the application and the plaint, issue notice to the non-applicant, returnable for 18.06.2024, on taking steps within three days.”
The plaintiffs, represented by advocate Anshul Attri, have demanded damages amounting to Rs 1.05 crore and a permanent injunction against CM Sukhu. They seek to prevent Sukhu from making further defamatory statements on any public platform or social media.
They are also requesting an interim injunction to prevent Sukhu from making the alleged defamatory statements against them on any public platform, and from circulating, publishing, or posting such statements on social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, or any other medium. This includes actions by Sukhu himself or through his agents, servants, friends, employees, supporters, assignees, family members, etc.
Background
In February when Kumar and five other Congress MLAs were disqualified after voting for the BJP candidate in the Lok Sabha polls, defying the party line. Their disqualification was attributed to their absence during the budget vote.
Additionally, Singh and other independent MLAs who initially supported Congress in forming the government also switched allegiances, voting for the BJP candidate in the Rajya Sabha polls. This led to their decision to resign from the assembly in March 2024 to officially join the BJP and contest elections anew.
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The defamation suits against CM Sukhu are part of a broader pattern, as other former Congress MLAs, including Ravi Thakur, Rajinder Singh, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Chaityana Sharma, and Sudhir Sharma, have filed similar suits. Another independent MLA, Ashish Sharma, has also approached the High Court with a suit against Sukhu.
Case Title: Davinder Kumar vs Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu
