Zee News Editor, Sudhir Chaudhary today told a Delhi court that the Congress MP Naveen Jindal and 16 other officials of his firm against whom he had filed a criminal defamation complaint, had levelled “false allegations” against him to tarnish his image.

Chaudhary told this to the court while recording his statement in connection with his complaint in which he had alleged that Jindal and Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) officials had made “deliberately false” statements against him.

He told the Metropolitan Magistrate Jay Thareja that Jindal and others had registered a “false case” against him in the alleged Rs 100 crore extortion bid case and defamed him by levelling allegations on him in a press conference here.

“In September 2012, a false case was registered against me at the behest of the respondents (Jindal and others) and they defamed me at different steps for which I have filed the present complaint,” Chaudhary told the court.

Chaudhary and Zee Business Editor Samir Ahluwalia were arrested on November 27, 2012 on a complaint by Jindal’s firm that they had demanded Rs 100 crore as an advertising deal for not airing “negative” news reports against JSPL in connection with the coal block allocation scandal.

They both were granted bail on December 17, 2012 by the court in the case in which they have been booked under sections 384 (extortion), 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating) and 511 (attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life or other imprisonment) of the IPC.

After recording Chaudhary’s statement today, the court reserved its order for January 15 for further proceedings.

“Complainant (Chaudhary) has been examined on oath. The arguments on the application filed by the complainant under section 91 of the CrPC have been heard. Put up for order on January 15,” the magistrate said.

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