By TCN News,
New Delhi: The All India Muslim Majlise Mushawarat, the apex body of India Muslim organisations, issued a legal notice yesterday to the BJP head Mr VK Malhotra who had recently defamed the Batla House and Jamia Nagar localities of South Delhi by claiming that they are “dens of terrorists”.
The Mushawarat told Mr Malhotra in its legal notice, sent through Adv. Durga Manyu Gupta, that “you have made these statements with criminal intent to promote enmity between different groups on ground of religion, community, place of birth, residence, etc., and to incite acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony, and you have intentionally insulted, and thereby given provocation to common people, intending and knowing it to be likely that such provocation will cause such persons to break the public peace, or to commit other offences. As such, your acts of making and publicising the aforesaid defamatory, malicious and provocative statements are offences under law”.
The legal notice further told the BJP leader that “your aforesaid statements have caused immense and irreparable damage to the reputation of an entire locality, its residents, its co-religionists as well as such other localities and their residents throughout the country. The damage caused is beyond calculation in term of money.”
Mushawarat has asked Malhotra to tender an unconditional public apology, particularly to the residents of Jamia Nagar and publicise the same on an equal scale. Mushawarat further said in its notice that failure to comply with the aforesaid demand, will force it to initiate appropriate legal action.
Following is the text of the legal notice:
To ——– Date: April 03, 2014
Mr. Vijay Kumar Malhotra
6, Dr. Bishamber Das Marg
New Delhi-110001
Sir,
Under instruction from and on behalf of our clients, All India Muslim Majlis Mashawarat, having its office at D-250, Abul Fazal Enclave-I, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi – 110025, through its president Dr. Zafarul Islam Khan, we hereby serve upon you the following legal notice:
1. That our client is an apex forum of Muslim organizations, institutions and well known personalities of Muslim community. Many of its member organizations have their offices in Jamia Nagar locality of Delhi. In addition, many of its member individuals are also resident of Jamia Nagar locality of Delhi. Jamia Nagar is also home of a prestigious central university, Jamia Millia Islamia, a Muslim-minority institution under Article 30 of the Constitution of India.
2. That it is a matter of public knowledge that Jamia Nagar, of which Batla House locality is also a part, is an overwhelmingly Muslim inhabited locality. The locality was part of the South Delhi Lok Sabha constituency prior to the present delimitation. You addressee had contested this Lok Sabha constituency in 2004 General Elections and were elected to the 14th Lok Sabha from this Lok Sabha constituency. As such, you addressee are personally aware that Jamia Nagar is an overwhelmingly Muslim concentrated locality and is home of a large number of highly qualified academicians and other professionals who are law-abiding and peace-loving citizens of the country. The commitment of residents of Jamia Nagar to rule of law, Constitution of India and well-being of their fellow humans, irrespective of caste, creed, language, region, etc., is no less than the people residing in other areas of the capital and elsewhere.
3. That you have made per se defamatory, malicious statements calling Jamia Nagar and Batla House as “safe-heavens for terrorists”. The aforesaid defamatory statements were intended to be publicized, and in fact, given wide-publicity by you and your associates including your political party, the Bharatiya Janata Party through mass media including various newspapers, electronic news channels and internet. You made the aforesaid statement with criminal intent to defame an entire locality, its residents, their co-religionists, and such other localities and residents throughout the country. Further, you have made these statements with criminal intent to promote enmity between different groups on ground of religion, community, place of birth, residence, etc., and to incite acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony, and you have intentionally insulted, and thereby given provocation to common people, intending and knowing it to be likely that such provocation will cause such persons to break the public peace, or to commit other offences. As such, your acts of making and publicising the aforesaid defamatory, malicious and provocative statements are offences under law.
4. That you are the current Head of the Election Campaign Committee, Delhi State unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Your above-mentioned statements are also a violation of model code of conduct of the Election Commission of India.
5. That your aforesaid statements have caused immense and irreparable damage to the reputation of an entire locality, its residents, its co-religionists as well as such other localities and their residents throughout the country. The damage caused is beyond calculation in term of money.
Therefore, we call upon you, by this legal notice, to tender unconditional public apology particularly to the resident of Jamia Nagar and publicize the same on equal scale by every means including through newspapers, electronic media and internet.
Please take notice that in case of your failure to comply with the aforesaid demand within 24 hours of the receipt of this legal notice, our clients shall be constrained to initiate appropriate legal action, both civil and criminal, against you in accordance with law at your cost and consequences.
A copy the notice has been retained in our office for the record and future reference.
Yours sincerely
(Durga Manyu Gupta)
For DIWAN ADVOCATES
Issued at New Delhi on 5 April 2014 by