Chandigarh, Nov. 6 -- A local court in Chandigarh has convicted city-based lawyer Siddharth Sanwaria for defaming PC Sanghi, a retired chief engineer and former chairperson of the Federation of Sectors Welfare Association, (FOSWAC), Chandigarh, after a 14-year-old legal battle.

The court held Sanwaria guilty under Section 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sentenced him to two years of simple imprisonment for publishing defamatory material intended to damage Sanghi's reputation and obstruct his nomination as a nominated councillor in Chandigarh municipal corporation.

The case dates to 2011 when Sanghi filed a complaint under Sections 499 and 500 of the IPC against Sanwaria, his father AP Sanwaria, mother Sushila Devi, a...