A Delhi court rejected BJP leader Suraj Bhan Chauhan’s plea to prosecute AAP’s Saurabh Bharadwaj over alleged defamation in 2018. The court cited an expired limitation period and noted the delay in filing the complaint. It criticized Chauhan’s approach as whimsical and opportunistic. As a result, the case was dismissed.
New Delhi: A Delhi court rejected a plea from BJP leader Suraj Bhan Chauhan, who sought to prosecute AAP’s Saurabh Bharadwaj for purportedly making defamatory statements about him in September 2018.
Special judge Vishal Gogne dismissed Chauhan’s petition against a trial court’s February 19 ruling that had already turned down his complaint due to a delay in filing.
The court noted that the limitation period had expired on March 16, 2024, and emphasized that the magisterial court had previously allowed a liberal interpretation of this period.
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The judge described Chauhan’s actions as “whimsical and opportunistic,” particularly regarding the belated defamation complaint, filed on the eve of the Delhi Assembly elections in early 2025.
Chauhan accused Bharadwaj of defamation during a press conference in 2018, claiming that Bharadwaj falsely asserted an FIR had been lodged against him. He argued that he had mistakenly filed his complaint at the Saket court instead of the Rouse Avenue Court, which was heard in September 2020. After withdrawing the complaint from Saket in November 2022, he submitted the current case at Rouse Avenue Court on December 12, 2024.
However, the judge pointed out that the magisterial court had already provided a generous interpretation of the limitation period by excluding the duration from January 7, 2020, to July 1, 2022.
The limitation period was deemed to have lapsed on March 16, 2024, and Chauhan was found to have filed his complaint with a delay of 270 days.
The judge stated,
“When the revisionist has not displayed conviction in his own remedy, it would be a case of misplaced deployment of the liberal approach for the court to defeat the substantial law of limitation.”
The judge concluded that the grounds presented in the revision petition did not establish any illegality, error, or impropriety in the earlier ruling, leading to the dismissal of the revision petition.
The magisterial court had already declared on February 19 that the alleged defamation occurred in September 2018 and noted that the limitation period for filing the complaint was three years.
The magistrate determined that none of Chauhan’s reasons for seeking a delay were justifiable, stating,
“The complainant is not entitled to the condonation of delay in filing the present complaint. Accordingly, the present application is dismissed.”
Bharadwaj is recognized for his eloquent speeches and firm positions on issues such as corruption, governance, and accountability. He advocates for reforms in education and healthcare, aligning with AAP’s fundamental policies.
His political journey includes involvement in several controversies and debates, frequently challenging the policies of rival parties, especially the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress.