Roopa seeks dismissal of defamation suit by Sindhuri; Justices withdraw from case

Bengaluru: IPS officer Roopa Divakar Moudgil has approached the High Court seeking the dismissal of a criminal defamation suit filed against her by IAS officer Rohini Sindhuri.

The matter was scheduled for hearing on Monday before a single-judge bench by Justice M Nagaprasanna. However, during the proceedings, the justices were informed that they had previously represented Rohini Sindhuri in another case as a lawyer.

Due to the conflict of interest, the justices decided to withdraw from the case and directed the Registrar to place it before the Chief Justice for an appropriate order.

The defamation suit against Roopa Maudgil was filed by Rohini Sindhuri at the Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court of Bengaluru on March 24, 2023. Following the filing, summons were issued to Roopa. Now, Roopa is seeking dismissal of the case and has filed a criminal petition in this regard.

In addition to requesting the dismissal of the defamation suit, Roopa’s petition also seeks the quashing of the order passed by the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate on March 4, 2023, under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) based on a private complaint filed by Rohini Sindhuri.