Bhagwant Mann’s wife agrees to drop former judge Ranjit Singh from defamation suit, sets condition

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s wife, Dr Gurpreet Kaur, has agreed to the removal of former Punjab and Haryana High Court judge Justice Ranjit Singh from the list of defendants in her defamation suit, subject to his consent to the deletion of allegedly incomplete material published by a television journalist from all social media platforms.

Kaur’s counsel, advocate Sukhbir Singh, informed the court on Tuesday that she had no objection to Singh’s name being removed from the suit. The court has scheduled further arguments in the matter for November 25.

The development follows an application filed by the former judge nearly a month ago, seeking ₹50,000 in compensation from Kaur under Section 95 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC). He alleged that she had obtained an interim injunction against him without sufficient grounds.

Dispute over the former judge’s statement

Representing Kaur, Sukhbir Singh told the court that his client was unaware of the former judge’s complete statement when she initiated the defamation proceedings. He said Justice Ranjit Singh had clarified that the material published by DD News anchor Bhawna Nair was incomplete and did not accurately reflect his full statement. The former judge has maintained that he had no intention of defaming Kaur.

Her counsel submitted that a legal notice seeking clarification had been sent to the former judge on August 22, but he did not respond. Kaur came to know of his complete statement only after filing the suit, he argued, adding that she had not concealed any facts from the court.

However, Kaur’s willingness to have the former judge’s name removed is conditional on his agreeing to the deletion of the allegedly incomplete material published by Nair from all social media platforms.

Advocate Charanjit Singh Bakshi, appearing for Justice Ranjit Singh, opposed the submission and questioned Kaur’s conduct. He alleged that she had failed to undertake reasonable inquiry before initiating legal proceedings against the former judge.

Court had earlier lifted interim injunction

Kaur had filed a damages suit against Justice Ranjit Singh, Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia, Congress leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira and television journalist Bhawna Nair over alleged defamatory remarks linking her to a purported demand for ₹5 crore from an accused in a rape case.

The case followed remarks made at a press conference by Justice Ranjit Singh on August 20. The former judge had argued that he was referring to allegations contained in proceedings before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, rather than making an accusation based on his personal knowledge.

On September 8, the Chandigarh court had granted an ex parte interim injunction restraining the former judge and the other defendants from publishing or circulating unverified material concerning the allegations. However, the court subsequently vacated the injunction against Justice Ranjit Singh on September 25, observing that Kaur had not disclosed material facts while seeking the relief.

The court had also left the former judge free to initiate separate proceedings seeking compensation for the injunction, which he alleged had been obtained on insufficient grounds. He subsequently filed an application under Section 95 of the CPC seeking ₹50,000.

The court will hear further arguments in the matter on November 25. The proposed removal of Justice Ranjit Singh’s name remains subject to the condition raised by Kaur’s counsel.