Former Municipal Minister Ponguru Narayana had filed a defamation suit in the Vijayawada People’s Representatives Court against Sakshi newspaper, owned by Y.S. Jagan, for publishing articles implicating him in land irregularities related to the Amaravati Inner Ring Road. He says these reports damaged his reputation. The Andhra Pradesh High Court will hear this landmark case today which will have serious legal implications.
Reacting to this, Y.S. Jagan has sought dismissal of the defamation case alleging that the case be quashed. The case is to come up before the Andhra Pradesh High Court today when the court will decide whether it is up for quashing or not.
The Vijayawada court had issued a series of summons to Jagan, which Jagan was not attending. This, no doubt, led him to present a quash petition in the High Court and seek relief from the ongoing defamation suit.
If the High Court permits the case to run in Vijayawada, then it would present a big challenge to Jagan in terms of the law. However, if the court rules in his favor and quashes the case all together, then it would give him much-needed respite. The hearing today would be very crucial in deciding whether Jagan is going to be tried for the defamation suit or gets let off the hook.