Overview
- ACJM Paras Dalal at Rouse Avenue Courts, which issued the order Wednesday, declined cognizance and dismissed Lipika Mitra’s complaint as “floccinaucinihilipilification,” or worthless.
- The judge found the press‑conference remarks were political assertions aimed at AAP and the INDIA bloc, not imputations against Mitra herself.
- The order said Sitharaman largely repeated Mitra’s own past allegations against her husband Somnath Bharti, which remained on record and which Mitra had not withdrawn.
- The court cited a 2010 Supreme Court ruling that sets a high threshold for curbing speech in political disputes and said no prima facie case arose under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita’s defamation provisions, Sections 356(1) and 356(2).
- The case stemmed from a May 17, 2024 press event carried on TV and online, and it now stands closed at the magistrate stage with Bharti having served as Mitra’s counsel and Zoheb Hossain appearing for Sitharaman.