A local court in Moga, Punjab, has issued a pre-cognisance notice to Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) and newly joined BJP leader Swati Maliwal. The notice was issued in connection with a defamation lawsuit filed against her by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Dr Amandeep Kaur Arora of Moga.During the hearing in this case, the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMIC) Moga, Ashima Sharma, heard the complainant’s counsel, Advocate Ajay Pal Singh Bhullar, who requested the court to issue a notice under Section 223(1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023.Reviewing the legal mandates, the court highlighted that under the proviso to Section 223(1) of the BNSS, a Magistrate cannot take cognisance of an offence without offering the accused an opportunity to be heard. Citing landmark Supreme Court rulings — including Jamuna Singh vs. Bhadai Shah (1964) and Cref Finance Ltd. vs. Shree Shanthi Homes Pvt Ltd.— the court stated that recording the complainant’s statement at this juncture would legally amount to taking cognisance.​Consequently, the court deferred recording the statement and issued a pre-cognisance notice to Maliwal, scheduling the next hearing for June 10. The court allowed the respondent/accused the liberty to appear either in person or through her counsel.The controversy erupted after Swati Maliwal, a former close aide of AAP who recently joined the BJP, posted a sharp critique on social media platform X. Commenting on a political situation, Maliwal alleged that the Punjab Chief Minister was putting the state’s AAP MLAs into buses like “bhed-bakri” (sheep and goats) and bringing them to Delhi.​Objecting strongly to the derogatory phrasing, Dr Amandeep Kaur Arora — who represents the Moga constituency and serves as the AAP Punjab Women Wing president — filed a defamation case.​Arora stated, “We are not sheep and goats but highly qualified, elected members of the Punjab Assembly. I am a trained doctor who served for seven years before joining politics, and our Assembly includes several other doctors, lawyers and teachers.” Arora further slammed Maliwal, noting that while the MLAs were duly elected by the citizens of Punjab, Maliwal was merely a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha who had no right to insult public representatives.​With the Moga court initiating official proceedings under the newly enacted BNSS framework, Maliwal will now have to present her defence on June 10.