New Delhi [India], January 21 : Patiala house court on Wednesday issued a notice to the proposed Accused Mandhira Kapoor and Pooja Chaudhary. The notice has been issued on the Defamation Complaint filed by Sanjay Kapur's wife, Priya Sachdev Kapur.
Priya Sachdev Kapur's and her sister Charu Sachdev statement recorded by the Court in a defamation complaint filed by Priya Kapur against Mandhira Kapur and others.
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Siddhant Sihag issued notice to the proposed accused after recording the statements of Priya Kapur and Charu Sachdev.
The hearing was conducted in a closed courtroom at the request of Senior Advocate Maninder Singh, counsel for Priya Kapur.
Senior advocate Maninder Singh, alongwith Advocats Smriti Asmita, Jhanvi Narang, appeared for Priya Sachdev Kapur.
The notice has been issued tothe proposed Accused to grant an opportunity respond to the proposed Accused on the defamation complaint under new legal provisions.
The next date of hearing is March 12.
Priya Sachdeva Kapur has moved a criminal defamation complaint against Sunjay Kapur's sister, Mandhira Kapur Smith, and another individual, alleging that a series of statements made against her across podcasts, social media platforms, media interviews and republished online content constitute a sustained and deliberate campaign to damage her reputation.
The complaint asserts that the impugned remarks contain false assertions, insinuations and personal attacks presented as established facts, despite the issues being sub judice, thereby causing serious reputational harm.
According to the complaint, the material circulated in the public domain advances misleading narratives and allegations aimed at maligning and harassing Priya Kapur through public discourse instead of lawful remedies.
Senior Advocate Maninder Singh submitted that such conduct squarely attracts the offence of criminal defamation under the applicable law.
The matter was taken up before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate at the Patiala House Courts, New Delhi, where the complaint was formally registered. The filing of the defamation case follows recent developments in connected proceedings, in which the court sought a response from actor Karisma Kapoor on a plea moved by Priya Kapur seeking certified copies of divorce-related court records involving late industrialist Sunjay Kapur.
Against this backdrop, Mandhira Kapur Smith made public remarks to the media questioning Priya Kapur's conduct and motives.
She stated that if her brother had intended to share certain information, he would have done so during the marriage, and further remarked that divorce proceedings are confidential, particularly where children are involved.
Priya Kapur has alleged that these statements form part of the defamatory material complained of and has approached the court through Senior Advocate Maninder Singh seeking criminal action for the alleged damage to her reputation.