A magisterial court in the city will frame charges against former minister Suresh Jain in a criminal defamation suit filed in 2003 by anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare.

In an order issued on March 19, judicial magistrate first class Shital S Bangad said, "There is sufficient material to proceed against the accused (Jain) and prima facie the ingredients of an offence punishable under Section 499 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code are applicable to the case." Jain, who is serving a prison term following his conviction in the Jalgaon housing scam, had addressed a couple of press conferences in May 2003 accusing Hazare of being corrupt and of having committed improprieties in the Hind Swaraj Trust run by the veteran activist.