A Delhi court on Thursday issued a notice to Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman on a defamation complaint filed by Aam Aadmi Party leader Somnath Bharti’s wife Lipika Mitra, Live Law reported.

Mitra has registered a criminal defamation case against Sitharaman under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to making and publishing defamatory, derogatory and libelous remarks in print and electronic media, Bar and Bench reported.

Mitra said that the allegedly defamatory and malicious statements by the Union finance minister were published on YouTube and broadcast on some news channels in May 2024.

She alleged that Sitharaman made the remarks during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections campaign with the intention of damaging her husband’s reputation and undermining his chances of winning the polls.

Bharti, the Malviya Nagar MLA at the time, was contesting from the New Delhi Lok Sabha constituency on an AAP ticket. He lost the election to Bharatiya Janata Party’s Bansuri Swaraj.

Mitra further said that the remarks by Sitharaman had caused “mental agony” to Bharti, herself and their children, Live Law reported.

Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Paras Dalal of the Rouse Avenue Court issued the notice to Sitharaman. The matter will be heard next on June 12.