Defamation case: Dr Gurpreet Kaur agrees to drop Justice Ranjit Singh's name

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's wife, Dr Gurpreet Kaur, has agreed to remove former Punjab and Haryana High Court judge Justice Ranjit Singh's name from her defamation suit. Her counsel Sukhbir Singh informed the court about this.

Dr Gurpreet Kaur's counsel stated that at the time of filing the suit, they did not have information about the former judge's complete statement. He said that the content broadcast by TV journalist Bhavana Nair was incomplete, regarding which the former judge had clarified that he had no intention to defame.

According to the stand presented by Dr Kaur, she had sent a legal notice on August 22 seeking clarification, but received no response. She has set the condition for removing the former judge's name that he agrees to remove this incomplete content from social media platforms.

On the other hand, the former judge's counsel Charanjit Singh Bakshi opposed this move. He alleged that adequate verification of facts was not done before initiating the suit and the entire press conference was already publicly available.

Apart from the former judge, Dr Gurpreet Kaur has filed a defamation case against Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia, Congress leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira, and a TV journalist. This matter is related to allegations of an alleged demand of five crore rupees by linking her to an accused in a rape case.

Earlier, the court had vacated the interim stay issued against the former judge and granted him the liberty to pursue action seeking compensation for securing a stay on insufficient grounds. Following this, the former judge has filed an application for compensation of 50 thousand rupees. Nothing has yet been proved in court.

Key developments

• Dr Gurpreet Kaur sets condition to drop former judge's name from defamation case
• Former judge's counsel alleges action initiated without verification
• Former judge seeks compensation of 50 thousand rupees for obtaining stay on insufficient grounds
• Bikram Majithia, Sukhpal Khaira and TV journalist are also named in the case