An Ahmedabad sessions court rejected AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Sanjay Singh’s plea for separate trials in a criminal defamation case over remarks on PM Modi’s degree. The court held that both leaders acted with a “common purpose” and must face trial together.
Ahmedabad: A sessions court in Ahmedabad on Monday rejected the pleas filed by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Sanjay Singh, who had sought separate trials in a criminal defamation case related to their remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s educational degree.
The court observed that both leaders appeared to be
“animated by a common purpose”
and were part of the same sequence of events. On this basis, the court refused to allow separate trials.
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The order was passed by Additional Sessions Judge M P Purohit, who dismissed the revision applications filed by former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh.
The two leaders had challenged an earlier order of the trial court, which had rejected their request for separate trials and had refused to quash the proceedings against them.
The criminal defamation case was filed by Gujarat University after it alleged that the two AAP leaders made “sarcastic and derogatory” statements against the university while commenting on Prime Minister Modi’s degree.
While rejecting the pleas, the sessions court noted that both accused made their statements on April 1 and April 2, 2023, while acting as members of the same political party. The court stated that they appeared to be
“engaged in one transaction, animated by a common purpose,” ]
and that there was clear continuity in their actions.
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Kejriwal and Singh had argued before the court that they could not be tried together because the accusations against them were different, the incidents took place on different dates, and the alleged transactions were separate.
They had submitted that the trial court’s order rejecting their plea for separate trials was illegal and required reconsideration.
However, the sessions court did not accept these arguments. It observed that, at a preliminary stage, there was sufficient material to show that a case under Section 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code was made out against both leaders.
The complaint was filed by Gujarat University Registrar Piyush Patel, who alleged that the remarks made by Kejriwal and Singh had harmed the reputation of the university.
The case relates to statements made by the two AAP leaders in April 2023, after the Gujarat High Court set aside an order of the Chief Information Commissioner that had directed disclosure of Prime Minister Modi’s educational degree.
According to the complaint, the allegedly defamatory remarks were made during press conferences and were also shared on social media platforms, including Twitter, and were specifically aimed at Gujarat University.
The complainant stated that the remarks damaged the prestige of Gujarat University, which has built a strong reputation among the public over the years.
He alleged that the statements were
“sarcastic and deliberately intended to damage the university’s image”,
and that they were widely circulated through the media and social media platforms with the same intention.
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