A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) functionary in Jammu and Kashmir has served a defamation notice to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Member of Parliament (MP) Sanjay Singh for calling him an "ex-terrorist trained in Pakistan". The notice demands a public apology, retraction of the defamatory statements, and Rs 50 crore in damages for causing "mental trauma and emotional distress" and "irreparable harm" to his reputation.
Ghulam Mohideen Sofi, a senior BJP leader from Kashmir, has also sent a legal notice to Sanjay Singh through his lawyer, accusing Singh of making "false, frivolous, and baseless" allegations against him that have caused him "severe humiliation, irreparable loss of reputation, and mental agony". Sofi, a former BJP district president of Baramulla district who contested the 2014 assembly elections, has strongly denied Singh's allegations, asserting that he is an innocent and law-abiding citizen with a respectable reputation.
The legal notice calls upon Singh to issue an unconditional apology to Sofi in writing and through the same medium where the defamatory allegations were made, within 15 days. Failure to comply will result in Sofi initiating criminal and civil proceedings against Singh.
The controversy arose after AAP leaders, including Sanjay Singh, were barred from staging protests in Srinagar against the detention of separatist leader Yasin Malik. Reacting to BJP's accusations against Malik, Singh held a press conference in New Delhi where he accused several BJP functionaries of being former terrorists. The BJP countered these charges, alleging that some AAP functionaries in Kashmir and New Delhi had links with terrorists and pro-Khalistan groups. Sofi was among those named by Singh.
Altaf Thakur, a BJP spokesperson in J&K, dismissed AAP's allegations, stating that all 12 individuals named by AAP had previously worked as counterinsurgents. Meanwhile, the BJP has initiated a process to re-verify the backgrounds of its workers and leaders who may have had militant pasts.
This is not the first time Sanjay Singh has faced defamation lawsuits. In January 2025, he sent defamation notices to BJP leaders Manoj Tiwari and Amit Malviya over allegations of irregularities in his wife's voter registration. In 2018, he was slapped with a Rs 5,000 crore defamation notice by the Reliance Group for making "false, distorted and malicious insinuations" against them regarding the Rafale fighter jet deal. Furthermore, the Delhi High Court issued a notice to Sanjay Singh and Delhi Chief Minister Atishi in a defamation case filed by Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit.
