NEW DELHI, April 2 -- : A Delhi court on Wednesday dismissed a criminal defamation complaint filed against Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman by the wife of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Somnath Bharti, holding that no prima facie case had been made out to proceed in the matter.

Refusing to take cognisance of the complaint, additional chief judicial magistrate (ACJM) Paras Dalal of Rouse Avenue Courts, in a 31-page order, said the complaint by Lipika Mitra lacked the necessary ingredients to initiate criminal defamation proceedings against the minister.

Terming the complaint "worthless material" that had been "stretched for too long," the court said the statements made by Sitharaman were nothing more than political discourse among...