Delhi court issues summons to news co.

NEW DELHI: Delhi’s Patiala House Court has issued summons to ABP (Ananda Bazar Patrika) News, its Chief Editor and Publisher Atideb Sarkar, and other officials. The summons was issued in connection with a criminal defamation case filed by Senior Advocate Pradeep Rai.
Judicial Magistrate Tarunpreet Kaur stated that a prima facie case has been established that an ABP News article linking Rai to conman Sanjay Rai Sherpuria, also known as Sanjay Prakash Rai, is defamatory. Considering the matter, the pre-summoning evidence provided by the complainant Pradeep Rai, the documents on record, and the submissions made, the court has allowed the complaint and has taken cognizance of the offence under Section 500 IPC. The court has ordered that summons be issued to the following parties: 1. Atideb Sarkar (Chief Editor & Publisher, ABP), 2. Aveek Sarkar (Vice Chairman & Editor Emeritus, ABP Group), 3. Avinash Pandey (CEO, ABP), and 4. ABP News.
The summons must be filed within 15 days from today for the offence under Section 500 IPC, and the next date of hearing (NDOH) will be set accordingly. The senior advocate has filed a defamation lawsuit against ABP News, its editor, and others over an article titled “Sanjay Sherpuria case: Mahathag Sanjay Rai Sherpuria par kas raha shikanja, bhatije ko STF ne puchhtachh ke liye bulaya” (Sanjay Sherpuria case: Conman Sanjay Sherpuria under scanner, nephew called for questioning by the STF). Advocate Rai informed the Court that the article inaccurately alleges that he is the nephew of Sherpuria and that he has been summoned for questioning by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF). It was stated that the article was published without verifying the facts and that it also mentions Rai’s brother. It is important to note that Sanjay Rai Sherpuria, a businessman from Lucknow, has been arrested on charges that he and his associates collected money from various individuals by falsely claiming connections with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and senior bureaucrats.