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Case of the week: Court to decide whether it can summon President Obama to Allahabad for criminal defamation [UPDATE: Case dismissed]

Advocate Sushil Kumar Mishra has filed a criminal defamation complaint before an Allahabad magistrate against US president Barack Obama, who allegedly “tarnished the image of India which is a secular country”, after POTUS warned in a speech on his India visit that religious tolerance was on the rise, reported the PTI.

Magistrate Neelima Singh set 18 February to hear the matter under section 500 of the IPC for criminal defamation and to decide whether Obama should be summoned.. Complainant alleged Obama had, through his reported statement that religious intolerance was on the rise in the country, “tarnished the image of India which is a secular country”. He prayed that Obama be prosecuted under Section 500 (punishment for defamation) of the IPC

Hat-tip @SauravDatta29.

The case has now been dismissed, reported the PTI, because it was not maintainable and Obama enjoyed diplomatic immunity.

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