[DTC Buses Procurement Case] High Court seeks BJP MLA Vijender Gupta’s response on deletion of tweets against Kailash Gahlot

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday sought Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Vijender Gupta’s response on the deletion of the allegedly defamatory tweets by him against the Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot over procurement of DTC buses.

A division bench of Justice Siddharth Mridul and Justice Talwant Singh was hearing an appeal filed by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Kailash Gahlot against a single-judge order, wherein the judge had refused to grant him temporary injunction in the defamation suit.

During the hearing, the counsel for Gahlot contended that the allegation made against him are scandalous and that Gupta can criticize, but cannot character assassinate. He also requested the bench to order Gupta to delete at least three tweets.

The division bench issued notice to Facebook and asked Gupta’s counsel, “Why should the tweets remain?” It was further asked whether the tweets are still receiving any replies and retweets. Accordingly, the bench directed Gupta’s counsel to come up with instructions and listed the matter for further hearing on January 16, 2023.

Last year in November, Gupta challenged the summons issued against him by a trial court in a criminal defamation case filed by Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot. Gahlot's complaint against Gupta alleged that Gupta had falsely accused Gahlot of corruption in the procurement of public buses.

Earlier, the trial court had taken the view that Gupta was prima facie guilty of offences under Sections 499, 500, and 501 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and summoned Gupta on November 16, 2021, upon a complaint by Gahlot stating that Gupta, a sitting MLA, has tarnished his reputation with mala fide intentions and for political mileage.

He alleged that Gupta had been making ill-intentioned remarks against him since March 8, 2021, with a deliberate intent to tarnish his image in the minds of "right-thinking people," through the reckless use of social media towards these ends. Gahlot emphasized in his plea that the Aam Aadmi Party-led (AAP) Delhi government's effort has been to ensure transparent procurement for the availability of a sufficient number of buses.

The issue came to the forefront when the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) requested the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) for a preliminary inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the procurement by the Delhi Government of 1000-low floor buses.

Case Title: Kailash Gahlot v. Vijender Gupta & Ors.