In a recent legal turn, the Himachal Pradesh High Court has directed its attention towards Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu following a defamation suit lodged by Bharatiya Janata Party members Davinder Kumar and Hoshyar Singh.
The legal wrangling stems from the fallout of the Rajya Sabha elections in February, where six Congress MLAs crossed party lines to support the BJP candidate, leading to accusations and counter-accusations. Among the plaintiffs, Kumar, a disqualified former MLA, and Singh, an independent legislator, are now aligned with the BJP.
Kumar, who is contesting the Kutlehar assembly constituency bypoll as the BJP candidate, and Singh, whose resignation to join the BJP is pending acceptance, are both seeking legal redress against the CM. Their suits, represented by advocate Anshul Attri, demand ₹1.05 crore in damages and a permanent injunction to prevent Sukhu from making further defamatory statements.
Justice Jyotsna Rewal Dua, presiding over the matter on May 22, has scheduled the next hearing for June 18. The court’s directive mandates a notice to CM Sukhu, requiring a response within three days.
The plaintiffs claim that Sukhu’s statements have caused significant reputational harm and seek to bar him from repeating these allegations across all public and social media platforms, including Facebook, WhatsApp, and Twitter.
This defamation case adds another layer to the ongoing political turbulence in Himachal Pradesh. In February, Kumar and five other Congress MLAs faced disqualification for supporting the BJP candidate instead of Congress’s Abhishek Manu Singhvi in the Rajya Sabha elections. The Speaker later disqualified them for absenteeism during the budget vote.
Additionally, independent MLAs Singh and two others, who initially supported the Congress during the 2022 assembly elections, also backed the BJP candidate, further complicating the political landscape. They resigned from the assembly in March to officially join the BJP and seek re-election.
Notably, former Congress MLAs Ravi Thakur, Rajinder Singh, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Chaityana Sharma, and Sudhir Sharma have filed similar defamation suits against CM Sukhu. Alongside Hoshyar Singh, independent MLA Ashish Sharma has also approached the High Court with a suit against the Chief Minister, reflecting a broader discontent with Sukhu’s alleged defamatory remarks.
