NEW DELHI: Vinai Kumar Saxena, the lieutenant governor of Delhi, filed a defamation lawsuit against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and its leaders after they allegedly accused him of engaging in corrupt behaviour during the demonetisation process. On Tuesday, the Delhi High Court granted an ad interim injunction order in his favour.

"I passed an ad interim order in favor of the plaintiff and a takedown order. There are clear instructions, "In the order, Justice Amit Bansal said. Earlier on September 22, the order in this cases was reserved.

Sanjay Singh, Atishi Marlena, Saurabh Bhardwaj, Jasmine Shah, and Durgesh Pathak are the AAP's five senior leaders. Saxena petitioned the court for a provisional order restricting them. In the previous hearing, L-G's counsels submitted that the AAP leaders' tweets and press meets, which have been widely reported, were ''malicious' and derogatory' against a high constitutional functionary.

The L-G was the target of significant accusations from the AAP in August, which claimed that he had "engaged in money laundering during demonetisation, in addition to flagrant misuse of power as the Chairman of the Khadi Gramodyog." Marlena said that two cashiers from Khadi Village Industries gave false testimony against Saxena during a press conference.

"Why wasn't he the subject of an investigation? The AAP requests that the CBI and the Central government conduct a comprehensive inquiry into the Rs 1,400 crore scam case involving V.K. Saxena. This is a blatant instance of money laundering, and the ED needs to launch an investigation and search his offices and homes "She said.

"Sanjeev Kumar and Pradeep Yadav, two of the KVIC cashiers, have testified before several investigating committees. Due to their limited positions, the cashiers are unable to transform black money into white. The cashiers find it difficult to provide statements as well. However, they have said in writing that the former Chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena put pressure on them to swap the old currency notes, which were essentially illicit money, for new ones "Atishi spoke to the press.

Other party leaders and the AAP had also demanded an Enforcement Directorate and CBI probe into the matter and sought the L-G's arrest. Earlier, the L-G had sent a legal notice to them on the allegations.

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