Thread by @LawBeatInd

Delhi High Court is hearing a plea by TMC leader @MahuaMoitra seeking quashing of summons and FIR issued to her in a defamation case.

Sr Adv Kapil Sibal appears for Moitra.

Sibal: Zee News has filed a complaint of defamation against Moitra.

Sibal: The words used were "Tum chor ho." I'll show you the context in which this happened.

Sibal: The reporter told me, "Aapne ye Bhashan chori kiya hai."

The reporter had alleged @MahuaMoitra of stealing an article from Martin Longman.

One of the statements in the article ran along the lines of "it's a funny thing but right wing assholes" are the same in every country, Sibal says.

Sibal: Martin Longman had tweeted referring to a poster in the Holocaust Museum. Moitra told the reporters that she had referred to the same poster.

Sibal says that she was hounded by reporters during the conversation outside the Parliament, while thrusting mics into her face, responding to which she said, "Aap logon ka channel chor ha, aapka owner chor hai, ye paid news hai."

Sibal: She also said tum "budhwak" ho but the judge has said this is not defamation hai. I mean, you provoke somebody, you say they are a cheat but if they respond then it is defamation.

@MahuaMoitra

Hai*

Court asks if @MahuaMoitra has also filed a complaint against them for saying the bhaashan was stolen.

Sibal: My Lords, they ran a whole programme against her calling her tukde tukde gang and what not.

HC: So she has filed a complaint against that?

Sibal: Yes.

HC: It's irrelevant here but please place on record. There are judgments saying calling someone a chor is a slight. It needs to be examined whether it was a counter blast as claimed by you, and what is the impact of that.

Sibal presses that there are judgments saying that if something is said in the heat of the moment, and to which no person of ordinary sense would attach a sense of offense, it would not be defamation.

Sibal: Kindly see the context in which the Member of Parliament is placed. The reporters kept saying the matter was plagiarized, she told them it is not, the person whose content was says it is not plagiarized but they kept calling her "chor".

Sibal: They kept harassing her and in the spur of the moment at some point she said, "Tum chor ho."

HC: Since you are saying it was a counter blast and in the spur of the moment, it needs to be seen whether this defense can be taken at this stage.

Sr. Adv. Vijay Aggarwal for Zee News: He was to answer on the question of maintainability.

Aggarwal: I've answered in detail first when a writ is maintainable, second, when S.251 application is maintainable.

He says @MahuaMoitra has moved a writ bypassing the remedy of revision under S.397 CrPC.

Sibal: This is pure harassment.

Aggarwal: Mr Sibal's client can file a complaint to harass..

(In a lighter note)

HC: So you accept this was a counter blast?

Sibal: The truth always comes out.

@MahuaMoitra

#CourtroomExchange

Court master asks whether to post the matter next in February.

Aggarwal: 29th ki de dijiye.

Sibal: Mr. Aggarwal knows all the tricks of the trade which I don't know.