A special court issued bailable warrant against former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, State BJP chief VD Sharma and ex-minister Bhupendra Singh for not furnishing undertaking in a defamation case.

The court directed them to appear on May 7, 2024, their counsel Shyam Vishwakarma said.

On Tuesday, they filed an application for clarification on nature of undertaking they have to furnish, Vishwakarma said.

The court order of March 22 directed them to furnish undertaking but what nature of undertaking they have to furnish is not mentioned in the order, the counsel said.

The defamation suit was registered against them on a petition filed by Congress’ Rajya Sabha member Vivek Tankha.

In January last, the defamation suit was registered against them after prima facie finding sufficient evidence for trial.

Tankha senior Supreme Court lawyer alleged the BJP leaders tarnished his image by claiming incorrectly that he was involved in a Supreme Court case related to Other Backward Class (OBC) quota in Panchayat elections in 2021.

Tankha has also filed a civil defamation suit of Rs 10 crore against Sharma, Chouhan and Singh.