New Delhi, Nov 24 : The Delhi High Court on Wednesday stayed a summoning order issued to BJP MLA Vijender Gupta by a trial court in a criminal defamation case filed by Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot over low floor bus scam allegations, asking Gahlot to reply in the matter. A single-judge bench of Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri issued notices to Delhi Government and Gahlot and listed the matter for further hearing on March 4. Senior Advocate Ajay Burman and lawyer Satya Ranjan Swain appeared for Vijender Gupta. Last Monday, the BJP MLA had approached the High Court challenging the summons issued against him in a criminal defamation complaint by Gahlot for allegedly making defamatory remarks about him over the procurement of 1,000 low-floor buses by the Delhi Transport Corporation. On October 11, the Rouse Avenue Court, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Ravindra Kumar Pandey had observed that Gupta prima facie committed the offences. "The Court is of the considered view on the basis of an oral submission, document places and proved on record in pre summoning evidence by complainant...that accused has prima facie committed the offences punishable under sections 499/500/501 of the Indian Penal Code," the court had said in its order. The Delhi Transport Minister had filed a criminal complaint against Gupta for allegedly defaming him in a matter related to the procurement of 1,000 low-floor buses by the Delhi Transport Corporation and sought Rs 5 crore in damages and also removal of media posts by the BJP legislator. Gahlot, in his complaint, had alleged that Gupta with "malafide purposes and to gain political mileage, has levelled defamatory, scandalous, mischievous, false and scurrilous allegations on the complainant both verbal as well as in writing on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook through his account." The Minister had also mentioned in his complaint that after getting the charge of the transport ministry in the Delhi government, he took the initiative for inducting around 1,500 new buses since 2017 for the welfare of the people. /IANS