New Delhi, April 1 A Delhi court issued a "notice of accusation" to BJP MLA Karnail Singh in a criminal defamation complaint filed by AAP leader Satyendar Jain, stating that there is no reason to believe that the accusation is baseless.
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Paras Dalal was hearing a complaint, which was at the stage of issuing a notice of accusation to the accused.
"In the facts and circumstances of this case, the accused side has not presented any evidence or argument to show that the accusation is baseless, and since the order on the issuance of process dated January 6, 2026, there has been no new argument from the accused side to dismiss the accused," the court said.
The court stated that all the elements of defamation had been prima facie established by Jain in his complaint and by the testimonies of his witnesses, which were sufficient to proceed with the trial.
"Accordingly, there is no reason to believe that the accusation is baseless, and there is sufficient material in this case to issue a notice of accusation to the accused under section 274 (the substance of the accusation to be stated) of the BNSS. The accused (Singh) must be present before this court on the next date of hearing on April 8, to receive the notice of accusation," the court said.
According to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) provision, "When in a summons-case, the accused appears before or is brought before the magistrate, the particulars of the offence of which he is accused shall be stated to him, and he shall be asked whether he pleads guilty or has any defence to make, but it shall not be necessary to frame a formal charge."
The court then added, "Both parties are reminded that this special court is set up for the expeditious trial of cases against sitting and former MPs/MLAs, and therefore, matters are to be fixed once every week, and adjournments are not to be granted except for exceptional circumstances."
The court took cognizance of the complaint in January, stating that there were "sufficient grounds to proceed" in the case, besides directing "issuance of process" (notice) to Singh.
Jain has accused Singh of damaging his reputation during a television interview on January 19 last year.
According to the complaint, Singh made a defamatory statement in the interview. Singh is alleged to have claimed that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had recovered 37 kg of gold from Jain's home, and that AAP leader Satyendar Jain owned 1,100 acres of land in his name, purchased with wealth amassed through corruption and money laundering.