New Delhi, May 8 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Tuesday for the third time asked Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vijendra Gupta to settle out of court a defamation case in an amicable manner.
Dikshit had filed a suit against Gupta after he refused to tender a public apology for setting up hoardings across the city accusing her government of “openly” looting thousands of crores of rupees by misrepresenting facts on power tariff and conniving with the private discoms.
Justice Kailash Gambhir, giving a third chance to them, asked their lawyers to sit together on May 19 in the office of Gupta’s lawyer Aman Lekhi to solve the issue out of court.
Dikshit filed the suit after Gupta refused to tender a “public apology for the slander”, as demanded by her.
The court had been granting time to both Dikshit and Gupta to settle out of court the defamation case in an amicable and responsible manner. The Delhi High Court Tuesday again asked them to sit together and solve the issue.
The court posting the matter for May 29 was informed by the lawyers that both the leaders could not move ahead on the settlement of the case as they were busy in Delhi MCD polls.
The court had earlier on March 15 and April 24 also asked counsel of both the leaders to settle the case.
Dikshit had demanded a token Re.1 for the damage caused to her reputation by Gupta.
The hoardings which were put up in June 2010 had claimed that the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) was going to recommend reduction in power tariff, but the Chief Minister “came in the way”.
