Mumbai: A magistrate court here on Monday closed defamatory proceedings against former Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik and acquitted him after BJP functionary Mohit Kamboj withdrew his complaint while expressing his inability to attend the court daily.

Chief Judicial Magistrate, First Class (Mazgaon court), A A Kulkarni accepted Kamboj’s plea to withdraw the case under section 257 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

“The accused stands acquitted of the offence under IPC section 500 (defamation) and the proceeding is hereby closed,” the court ruled.

Section 257 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) deals with the withdrawal of a complaint. It allows a complainant to withdraw their complaint before a final order is passed by the magistrate, provided they satisfy the magistrate that there are sufficient grounds for the withdrawal. If the magistrate permits the withdrawal, the accused is acquitted.

“Since this court is desirous of keeping the said case on a day-to-day basis, I am desirous to withdraw the case filed against the accused as I will be unable to attend the court on a daily basis,” Kamboj stated in his application.

“I have voluntarily decided to withdraw the case, and no undue pressure or coercion has been exerted upon me in this regard,” it added.

Kamboj had filed a complaint before the magistrate’s court claiming Malik, in a press conference held on October 9, 2021, on the NCB raid on a cruise ship “purposefully and intentionally defamed” him (Kamboj) and his brother-in-law Rishab Sachdev.

Kamboj had accused Malik of grossly misusing his dominant position to defame him and his family with highly speculative statements without any evidence to substantiate his malicious claims.

He had sought action against Malik for allegedly committing offences under sections 499 and 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code.

The Narcotics Control Bureau raided a cruise ship in October 2021 and arrested 20 people, including Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan, in connection with a purported drug case. Aryan and some others were later granted bail.

Malik had repeatedly termed the cruise drugs case as “fake” and levelled several allegations against NCB’s then Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede, who has denied the charges.