The defamation suit was related to comments made by Tiwary about Jha’s close relationship with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the JD(U)’s supreme leader
(Photo: Getty Images)
RJD’s National Vice President, Shivanand Tiwary, has been sentenced to one year in prison by a Patna court in a criminal defamation case filed by Bihar minister Sanjay Kumar Jha five years ago.
The court, presided over by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Sarika Bahaliya, also imposed a fine of ₹10,000 on Tiwary, a former state minister. Jha, who held key portfolios like Water Resources and Information and Public Relations in the Nitish Kumar government, filed the petition in 2018 when he was a national general secretary of the JD(U).
The defamation suit was related to comments made by Tiwary about Jha’s close relationship with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the JD(U)’s supreme leader.
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The court granted provisional bail to Tiwary and provided a 30-day window for him to appeal the order.
Tiwary, a veteran socialist leader with a longstanding association with both Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar, has been a member of parties floated by the two leaders at different times.
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