A Chandigarh court has issued strict orders to Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikramjit Singh Majithia and Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira. The court has restrained them from circulating unverified or defamatory material against Dr. Gurpreet Kaur—wife of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann—on social media or any other platform. Consequently, Bikramjit Singh Majithia, Sukhpal Singh Khaira, and retired Punjab and Haryana High Court Justice Ranjit Singh have been barred from sharing such content until further orders.
According to reports, Dr. Gurpreet Kaur had filed a defamation petition against the three individuals in the Chandigarh court on September 8. The court issued this order following a hearing held on Wednesday. During the proceedings, the court restrained the three individuals from making public any unverified or defamatory material regarding the matter for the time being. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for September 30.
Understanding the Full Matter
This case stems from allegations made by retired Justice Ranjit Singh. He had alleged that Dr. Gurpreet Kaur demanded ₹5 crore to suppress a rape case and to have a case registered against a businessman quashed. Gur Chahal was named as the prime accused in that case. Subsequently, Dr. Gurpreet Kaur approached the court, stating that attempts were being made to tarnish her image via social media. Allegations regarding the demand for ₹5 crore were made in a video released in August. Following this, Dr. Gurpreet Kaur issued a notice to the retired judge, refuting the allegations concerning the ₹5 crore demand. The notice also claimed that the retired judge is a relative of Congress MLA Sukhpal Khaira. Subsequently, in September, Akali Dal leader Bikram Majithia shared a video on social media claiming that a financial transaction was taking place involving a relative of Dr. Gurpreet Kaur. Furthermore, allegations were raised regarding the provision of special facilities to the accused in Patiala Jail and a meeting with the accused at the Chief Minister’s residence. Following this, Khaira shared an audio recording of Majithia on social media.
