Bathinda, May 28 -- A Moga court has issued notice to Swati Maliwal, a Rajya Sabha member from Delhi, in connection with a criminal defamation complaint filed against her by Aam Aadmi Party's Moga legislator Amandeep Kaur Arora. Judicial magistrate 1st class Ashima Sharma passed the order on May 25. The court will hear the case on June 10.

Arora had filed the criminal defamation case against Maliwal, alleging that the latter used a term "bhed bakri" (sheep and goats) for AAP MLAs in Punjab. The court has summoned Maliwal under Section 210(1) (cognisance of offences by magistrate) and 223 (examination of a complainant by magistrate) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita.

The order stated, "As per the provision to Section 223(1) of BN...