Amarinder, Badal appear in court in defamation case

Chandigarh, July 29: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today appeared in a local court as an accused in a defamation case filed against him by his predecessor and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Parkash Singh Badal.

Mr Badal, who was also present in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Y S Rathore for the recording of his statement, had filed the defamation case against Capt Singh during the Punjab Assembly elections in February 2002.

Mr Badal and his counsel stated in the court that Capt Singh had levelled baseless allegations against the SAD president through advertisements in newspapers during the state assembly election campaign. One of the charges levelled against Mr Badal through such ads was that the senior Akali leader and his family had amassed wealth worth Rs 3500 crore.

After recording Mr Badal's statement in the presence of the chief Minister, the CJM adjourned the hearing till November four 2006.

The Punjab Chief Minister is presently on a bail in this case.

Later talking to newspersons, Mr Badal expressed hope the this case would reach its logical conclusion. ''The Chief Minister will have to pay for levelling such baseless allegations against me,'' he said.

The court has already framed charges against the chief mnister in the case.

UNI