A local court in Ludhiana on Thursday issued a bailable arrest warrant against senior Congress leader Jagdish Tytler in a defamation case.

The warrant against Tytler was issued by the court of Judicial Magistrate K K Bansal in Ludhiana. The court today fixed November 28 as the next date of hearing.

Tytler was present when Sikhs were killed: Priest

On September 8, Tytler had approached the Supreme Court, seeking shifting of a defamation case against him from a court in Punjab to Haryana.

The case, pending before a Ludhiana court, was filed by a senior advocate spearheading a campaign against him for his alleged involvement in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

 I am innocent: Tytler

A bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan had sought a response from the Punjab government on the allegation by Tytler, a Lok Sabha member, that he will not get fair trial in the Ludhiana court and there was also a security threat to him.

 The Nanavati Commission Report

A notice was also issued to Delhi-based senior advocate H S Phoolka, who had filed the defamation case in 2004 against Tytler, accusing him of making slanderous statements during a programme telecast by a private TV channel.

The Congress leader, against whom the Justice G T Nanavati Commission, which inquired the anti-Sikh riots, recommended initiation of criminal proceedings, approached the apex court after the Punjab and Haryana High Court dismissed his petition seeking transfer of the defamation case.

 '84 riot victim accuses Jagdish Tytler of instigating violence