A court on Saturday (October 10, 2026) dismissed a criminal defamation plea filed by Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Parvesh Verma against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Saurabh Bhardwaj with regard to the latter’s remarks on social media in a sexual assault case involving a minor.
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Neha Mittal of a Rouse Avenue court declined to take cognisance of the complaint, holding that the statements made by Mr. Bhardwaj were framed as questions and did not constitute defamation.
“In a democracy, it is not only the right of the press and the public to ask the government questions, it is also the job of the government and the elected officials to, at times, listen to opinions which are different from their own,” the court said, while quashing the defamation case.
The tweets and videos posted by the proposed accused were in the nature of questions asked with the purpose of criticising the government, and not to defame anyone, it added.
“The statements therein were a mere reiteration of the information which was already posted on a social media platform by Amarjit Singh Baboo (Mr. Bhardwaj had raised questions on social media about the alleged appointment of Amarjit Singh Baboo as a trustee of the SS Mota Singh School Trust, a reportedly missing Trust file, and how the government had handled a POCSO case involving a three-year-old girl) and hence, cannot be said to have been made with the intent to harm the reputation of the complainant,” the court said.
In his plea, Mr. Verma had accused the AAP leader of publishing allegedly false and malicious content on social media platforms, including X, Instagram, and Facebook. He claimed Mr. Bhardwaj had suggested that he (Mr. Verma) had used his political influence to benefit school officials connected with a case registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The allegations had harmed his personal reputation and his family’s reputation, Mr. Verma said in his complaint.
