MOHAMMAD AMIN BHAT Vs. MOHAMMAD SARTAJ MADNI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner has challenged the complaint filed by respondent against him for offence under Sec. 500 RPC before the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Anantnag, as also the order dtd. 20/8/2018, passed by the learned Magistrate, whereby, after taking cognizance of the offence, process has been issued against the petitioner.

(2.) It emerges from the record that the respondent has filed a complaint before the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Anantnag, against the petitioner herein who, at the relevant time, was a member of the Jammu and the complaint it is alleged that the complainant has been a two-time member of the State Legislative Assembly and he had also held the post of Deputy Speaker of the State Legislative Assembly. It is further alleged that on 14/7/2018, the petitioner/accused addressed two public meetings, one at Devsar and another at Kund, wherein he made defamatory and baseless allegations against the respondent/complainant. The translated version of the alleged defamatory allegations attributed to the petitioner/accused have been reproduced in the complaint.

(3.) The statements alleged to have been made by the petitioner during the public meeting at Devsar, are that respondent/complainant has accumulated property worth Rs.10,000.00 crores by looting poor people; he got loan amount of Rs.40.00 lakhs waived off; he ensured allotment of project worth Rs.200.00 crores to his son at Anantnag without undertaking any tendering process for construction of Medical College at Larkipora; received bribe of Rs.10.00 lakhs for each appointment in J&K Bank; received an amount of rupees one crore from every officer.