Defamation complaint against Tejashwi Yadav quashed by SC
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Tuesday quashed the defamation complaint against RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav over his alleged "only Gujaratis can be thugs" remark.
A bench of Justices A S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan granted the relief to Yadav after noting that he has withdrawn his statement.
"We have quashed the complaint," the bench said.
The top court on January 29 had directed Yadav to file a "proper statement" withdrawing his alleged remark that "only Gujaratis can be thugs".
Yadav on January 19 filed an affidavit in the apex court withdrawing his alleged "Gujarati thugs" remark.
The top court, while hearing the RJD leader's plea, had earlier stayed the proceedings in the criminal defamation complaint and issued notice to the Gujarat resident who had filed it in an Ahmedabad court.
The Gujarat court had in August conducted a preliminary inquiry against Yadav under section 202 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and found sufficient grounds to summon him on the complaint filed by Haresh Mehta, a local businessman and activist.
According to the complaint, Yadav, while talking to the media in Patna in March 2023, had said, "Only Gujaratis can be thugs in the present situation, and their fraud will be forgiven."
Mehta claimed Yadav's comments defamed all Gujaratis.
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Iran foreign minister Araghchi meets Pakistan Army chief Munir
Islamabad (PTI): Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday met Pakistan Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir here, as Islamabad continued its efforts to facilitate engagement between the US and Iran.
The meeting, according to a short video posted by the Iranian embassy on social media, was also attended by Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei, and Iran's ambassador Reza Amiri Moghadam.
Araghchi calls on Munir, the embassy said in the video caption.
It did not provide further details about the discussions.
Araghchi arrived here late Friday for engagements with the Pakistani leadership. He was received by senior officials, including Munir, foreign minister Ishaq Dar and interior minister Mohsin Naqvi.
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However, there is no clarity on whether direct talks between Washington and Tehran will take place during the visit.
"No meeting is planned to take place between Iran and the US. Iran's observations would be conveyed to Pakistan," Baqaei said in a social media post on Saturday.
Araghchi, before leaving for Islamabad, said that he was embarking on a timely tour of Islamabad, Muscat, and Moscow, and the purpose of his visits is to "closely coordinate with our partners on bilateral matters and consult on regional developments".
"Our neighbours are our priority," he said.
As the Iranian team landed in Islamabad, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that US Special Envoy on the Middle East Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's adviser Jared Kushner would be leaving for Pakistan on Saturday "to engage in direct talks" with representatives of the Iranian delegation.
However, the US team has not yet arrived.
Meanwhile, Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Dar, in a social media post, expressed hope for "meaningful engagements" between the two warring parties to promote regional peace and stability.
The first round of US-Iran talks held on April 11 and 12 failed to produce a breakthrough, prompting a flurry of diplomatic efforts by host Pakistan to cool tensions and revive hopes for another round of dialogue.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The Iran war began on February 28 with US-Israeli strikes.
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