A magisterial court on Wednesday posted the case of criminal defamation filed against Teesta Setalwad for hearing on January 28. The court had last year asked the police to probe the charges levelled by Teesta’s former aide Raiskhan Pathan.

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Meanwhile, Teesta’s lawyer has sought access to the report prepared by the police. The lawyer has argued that the report was needed to file an ample reply to the charges. The deputy commissioner of police, Zone V, had submitted a report to the court after conducting the probe. The respondent’s request has been opposed by Pathan’s counsel, Manisha Luvkumar. According to the lawyer, the report could not be handed over to Teesta as the court was still monitoring the case under Section 202 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

On July 23 last year, Metropolitan Magistrate TS Brahmabhatt had directed the police to look into Pathan’s complaint. The petitioner had claimed that Setalvad accused him of discrediting and harassing witnesses of 2002 riot cases. She also accused him of having close ties with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and enjoying its patronage, which amounted to defamation, the complainant said.

Teesta had approached the Gujarat high court requesting it to quash the proceedings in the lower court. She had also sought a stay on the ongoing investigation by the police.