Troubles appear to be mounting for Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann regarding a court case. A court in Mansa has taken a tough stance on the Chief Minister’s repeated absences in an old defamation case.
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Rajinder Singh Nagpal has made it clear that if Bhagwant Mann fails to appear in person at the next hearing on May 1, his bail will be revoked and strict legal action will be taken to ensure his presence.
The entire matter stems from the political turmoil during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. On April 25, 2019, Aam Aadmi Party MLA from Mansa, Nazar Singh Manshahia, left the Aam Aadmi Party and joined the Congress party. Two days after Manshahia joined the Congress, Bhagwant Mann, the then MP from Sangrur and current Chief Minister of Punjab, held a press conference in Sangrur. He alleged that Manshahia had joined the Congress party after being lured by a bribe of ₹10 crore and the promise of becoming the chairman of the Punjab Pollution Control Board.
Nazar Singh Manshahia called these allegations completely baseless and politically motivated. He demanded that Bhagwant Mann prove his allegations or apologize. Upon receiving no response, Manshahia filed a criminal defamation case against Bhagwant Mann and certain media outlets in the Mansa court on July 30, 2019.
The court issued summons to Bhagwant Mann in December 2020. After a lengthy process, Bhagwant Mann appeared in the Mansa court as Chief Minister on October 20, 2022, and was granted bail on a surety of ₹50,000. On March 26, 2025, the Punjab and Haryana High Court dismissed the proceedings against the journalists and editors named in the case, stating that they had merely reported the statement of a public figure and had no intention of defaming Mann. However, the case against Bhagwant Mann remains ongoing.
During the hearing on April 28, 2026, the court noted that Bhagwant Mann had not appeared in court even once since October 20, 2022. The Chief Minister had applied for exemption from personal appearance, citing an important meeting in Chandigarh. The court strongly objected to this, stating that such “vague grounds” demonstrate the Chief Minister’s stubborn attitude and behavior towards court proceedings. The judge stated that the accused’s continued absence was hindering the case from proceeding.
This time, the court has given a final chance and issued strict instructions for the future. The court has scheduled the next hearing for May 1, 2026, and has strictly ordered Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to appear in person. Interestingly, a special session of the Punjab Assembly has also been convened on the same day. It will be important to see whether the Chief Minister appears in court or, citing his busy schedule with the Assembly session, seeks exemption from personal appearance again, as the court has already made it clear that his bail may be cancelled if he fails to appear.