Chandigarh, Oct 22: A local court today granted bail to Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh in a defamation case filed by his predecessor and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Prakash Singh Badal.
While pronouncing the order chief judicial magistrate (CJM) C L Mohal in the presence of both the Chief Minister and Badal fixed December 3 as the next date of hearing in the case.
Singh furnished a personal bail bond of Rs 10,000 and a surety of the same amount.
The Chief Minister appeared today after having failed to appear twice on summons issued by the court in the defamation case filed by Badal on August 12 last year.
The court also issued notice for the same date to the Chief Minister on an application filed by Badal challenging his recent summoning as also that of his son Sukhbir and wife Surinder Kaur by Punjab Vigilance Bureau for questioning even though the defamation case was being heard by the court.
The court fixed December 3 as the next date after Amarinder's counsel sought a "convenient date" as the Chief Minister was to go out for campaigning in states where assembly elections are to be held next month.
Badal, while seeking damages of Rs five crore, had alleged that Amarinder had defamed him through media prior to his taking over as the Chief Minister last year alleging that he owned assets worth Rs 3,500 crore, including those in USA, Australia, and Delhi.
Bureau Report