Lucknow: A court here on Wednesday directed AAP leader Sanjay Singh to pay Rs 1 lakh in damages to former Uttar Pradesh minister Mahendra Singh in a defamation case. In an order, Civil Judge (Senior Division) Kamla Kant Gupta directed the AAP MP to pay the damages within two months, following which an interest of six per cent will be imposed on the amount.
The court had issued notice to Sanjay Singh, currently in jail in connection with the Delhi excise policy scam case, but he did not respond to it. Hence the court proceeded ex parte against him. Addressing a press conference in Lucknow on August 8, 2021, the AAP leader had accused Mahendra Singh, the then Jal Shakti minister of Uttar Pradesh, of indulging in corruption in the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission.
Mahendra Singh subsequently filed a civil defamation suit against the AAP MP and sought Rs 21 lakh in damages. The court also directed the AAP leader to remove videos and print materials on his remarks from social media platforms.
