Two defamation cases against Anna clubbed

In a partial relief to anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare, the Bombay high court has clubbed the two defamation cases filed against the crusader by Shiv Sena MLA Sureshdada Jain.

A division bench of justices VM Kanade and Abhay Thipsay has directed that the two cases would be tried together at Jalgaon. In May 2003, Jain had filed two defamation cases against Hazare alleging that the latter made defamatory remarks at press conferences in Nanded and Pune.

The court later accepted Hazare's contention that his defence in first case could be used by Jain to plug loopholes during the second trial.

Hazare had filed the petition seeking quashing of the complaints. Alternatively, he had sought clubbing the two complaints. The judges had said that they do not have the jurisdiction to quash the Jalgaon case.