Proceedings against Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik were closed after BJP’s Mohit Bharatiya withdrew the two defamation cases filed against him. The withdrawal follows a plea filed by Malik before the magistrate court seeking to dispose of the case as Bharatiya had not appeared in court during the last 15 hearings to record his statement.
Bharatiya filed an affidavit before the court stating that he was voluntarily withdrawing the plea.
“That since this Hon’ble Court is desirous of keeping the said case on day-to-day basis, I am desirous to withdraw the case filed against the accused in the above-referenced matter as, I will be unable to attend this Hon’ble Court on daily basis,” the affidavit said.
The cases pertained to remarks allegedly made by Malik during an investigation by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) into the 2021 raid on a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast. Bharatiya had alleged that Malik had “purposefully and intentionally defamed” him and his brother-in-law, following which he filed two defamation complaints under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code.
The court summoned Malik after one of the complaints, filed on October 26, 2021. The matter was listed for recording of evidence, where Bharatiya was expected to depose as the complainant. However, according to a plea filed by Malik’s lawyer Gaurav Bhawnani, Bharatiya failed to appear for as many as 15 consecutive hearings.
On each of the hearings, an adjournment was sought due to non-availability of the complainant, the plea said. Under section 256(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code, in case of non-appearance of the complainant, the court can acquit the accused.
Malik’s plea pointed out that while an advocate can appear on a complainant’s behalf, personal presence becomes mandatory at the stage of recording evidence. “The present proceedings have completely stalled due to the repeated absence of the complainant,” the plea stated, adding that Bharatiya’s continued absence demonstrated “no respect” for the valuable time of the court, the accused, or the advocates involved.
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Another case filed by Bharatiya against Malik, who was then a minister in the Maha Vikas Agadhi (MVA) government, was also withdrawn in 2022.
