A metropolitan court in Ahmedabad on Monday adjourned the hearing in the defamation case filed by Jay Shah against news website The Wire to December 16 after the complainant failed to show up in the court, The Indian Express reported.

Jay Shah’s lawyer told the court that he was busy with some social engagement and sought exemption from appearing. The defendants were present in the court for the hearing.

Jay Shah, the son on Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah, had filed the defamation case on October 9 against The Wire, its editor and its reporter for an article that alleged that the revenues of his company had grown massively the year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power.

Co-founding Editor of The Wire MK Venu on Monday said, “Jay Shah, the complainant in the criminal defamation against The Wire, did not show up on day 1 of hearing. His lawyer said he couldn’t come because of his social work commitments!”

“First matter I’ve seen where the complainant is scared to show his face, while the “accused” are happy to smile for the cameras,” editor Siddharth Varadarajan said on Twitter.

On October 24, the metropolitan court had issued summons to journalist Rohini Singh and the editors of The Wire under sections 500 (punishment for defamation) and 114 (abetting an offence) of the Indian Penal Code and section 202 (postponement of issue of process) of the Criminal Procedure Code.

In October, a court in Ahmedabad had issued an ex parte injunction against the news website, preventing it from publishing any content “directly or indirectly” about Jay Shah. On November 2, the Gujarat High Court had refused to stay the lower court’s injunction order.