A Delhi court on Tuesday quashed summons issued to Chief Minister Atishi in a defamation case filed by Bharatiya Janata Party leader Praveen Shankar Kapoor, Live Law reported.

The suit was filed in April after Aam Aadmi Party leaders alleged that the BJP had attempted to lure them and MLAs by offering money to switch parties.

Special Judge Vishal Gogne of the Rouse Avenue Court set aside the chief metropolitan magistrate’s order in May, which directed the issuance of summons to Atishi.

On Tuesday, Gogne cited freedom of speech as an “overarching principle” to quash the summons.

“It is the freedom of speech as an overarching principle, which permits one man’s subaltern to be another man’s Naxal, it permits one man’s freebie to be another man’s welfare, it even permits one man’s martyr to be another man’s militant,” The Indian Express quoted the order.

The judge added: “If the interpretation of the complainant is accepted, almost every top leader of every political party in India would become liable to prosecution for defamation.”

This came amid the Assembly elections campaign in Delhi. The polling in the national capital will take place on February 5 and the votes will be counted on February 8.

BJP leader Kapoor had filed the defamation case against Atishi and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal in April in connection with allegations made by the AAP leaders that the Hindutva party was trying to poach its legislators and topple its government.

Kapoor, the media department chief of the Delhi BJP, claimed that the allegations were false and that the AAP had not produced any evidence to support its claims. He alleged that through such claims, the Kejriwal-led party was trying to divert public attention away from the alleged Delhi liquor policy scam.

The BJP leader cited a tweet by Kejriwal on January 27, 2024, alleging that the BJP had offered Rs 25 crore each to seven Aam Aadmi Party MLAs to quit Delhi’s ruling party and topple the government in the national capital.

Atishi, a minister at the time, had alleged on the same day that the BJP had launched “Operation Lotus 2.0” in Delhi. “They had made a similar attempt to poach AAP MLAs last year by offering them money but failed,” she had said.

On April 2, Atishi alleged in a press conference that the BJP had asked her to join the party or she would be arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in one month.

Kapoor, in his complaint against the AAP leaders, accused them of damaging the BJP’s reputation.

When the summons were issued to Atishi in late May, the additional chief metropolitan magistrate had said that on a preliminary reading of the case, there were no grounds for summoning Kejriwal.

Kejriwal as the chief minister at the time.