On Tuesday, a Delhi Court granted bail to Delhi Minister Atishi Marlena in a criminal defamation case filed by Praveen Shankar Kapoor, the media head of Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Kapoor accused Atishi of making allegations against the BJP regarding attempts to poach Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs.

Since the offense is bailable, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Tanya Bamniyal granted bail to Marlena, who appeared in court personally. She was instructed to provide a bail bond of ₹20,000 and one surety for the same amount.

Senior advocates Ramesh Gupta and Shailendra Singh, representing Marlena, requested additional time to review the documents before presenting their arguments in the case. The court has scheduled further hearings for August 8.

Kapoor's complaint, filed on April 29, 2024, followed the registration of cases by the CBI and ED concerning the now-defunct Delhi liquor excise policy. Kapoor alleged that AAP leaders, including Atishi, made defamatory statements against the BJP.

On May 28, after hearing testimonies from Kapoor's witnesses, the court issued a summons to Atishi but did not issue one to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The court noted that Atishi's statements appeared to have defamed Kapoor, potentially damaging his reputation among reasonable members of society, with the intention to harm him.

The court's observations suggested that preliminary evidence indicated Atishi's statements were defamatory. In April, the BJP had issued a defamation notice to Atishi following her claim that she was being pressured to join the BJP or face arrest by the ED. Atishi had publicly alleged that the ED was planning to arrest her and other AAP leaders.