Bhopal, 27 April (). A district court in Bhopal on Thursday framed charges against Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh in a defamation case. The special court dealing with cases of MPs, MLAs, BJP leader V.D. Charges were framed under Section 500 of the IPC against the two-time former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh in a defamation case filed against him by Sharma seven years ago.
In July 2014 V.D. Sharma, who was then the general secretary of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the BJP, told the court that Congress leader Digvijaya Singh had accused him of being involved in the multi-level Vyapam scam that came to light in 2013.
As per reports, Sharma then told the court that Singh had accused him of being a middleman in the Vyapam case, an attempt to tarnish his image among the public.
Section 500 (Punishment for defamation) of the Indian Penal Code provides for simple imprisonment for a maximum term of two years, or with fine, or with both. The court fixed July 1 for hearing the matter.
Sharma is now the state BJP president, having taken over from former state president Rakesh Singh in February 2020 after the BJP lost the assembly elections in 2018. His two-year term has now ended, though he is likely to continue in office. The central leadership has not yet made any announcement in this regard.
The Vyapam scam pertains to alleged manipulation of the selection process for government colleges and jobs run by the erstwhile Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (Vyapam), a professional examination board.
Last month, a court in Gujarat’s Surat district convicted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi under sections 499 and 500 (dealing with criminal defamation) of the Indian Penal Code in a case filed by BJP MLA Purnesh Modi over remarks on the Modi surname. He was sentenced to one year in prison.
Following the verdict, Rahul Gandhi, who was elected to the Lok Sabha from Kerala’s Wayanad in 2019, was disqualified as a Member of Parliament under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act.
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