New Delhi: Defence Minister George Fernandes has slapped a legal notice for defamation on Congress president Sonia Gandhi seeking an "unconditional written apology" within 72 hours for her alleged attacks against him in the issue of purchase of caskets for Kargil martyrs.

The notice was sent citing Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code (defamation) accusing Gandhi of having conducted a "defamatory" campaign against the Defence Minister during the recent elections that he had "indulged in corruption in the procurement of aluminium caskets for the Indian Army".

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The notice sent on behalf of Fernandes, who is also the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) president, by his lawyer Abhijat said that failure to respond to it within the timeframe would invite criminal proceedings against her.