Arvind Kejriwal and Atishi had approached the Supreme Court after the Delhi High Court refused to cancel the criminal defamation case filed by Babbar.
New Delhi, May 9 – The Supreme Court of India has extended its earlier interim stay on the criminal defamation case filed against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Atishi. This case is related to their comments in 2018 about the alleged removal of names from the voters’ list in Delhi.
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The Supreme Court bench, which includes Justice M.M. Sundresh and Justice Rajesh Bindal, gave more time to BJP leader Rajeev Babbar—who had filed the original complaint—to submit his reply. Since Babbar requested four more weeks to respond, the top court decided to adjourn the matter for now.
A Bench comprising Justice M.M. Sundresh and Justice Rajesh Bindal, while granting an adjournment, observed,
“Resolve your disputes elsewhere… as a political figure, the first quality you must possess is a thick skin.”
Earlier, the Supreme Court had sent notices to both the Delhi Police and Rajeev Babbar, asking for their replies in this matter.
It had also made it clear that, “In the meanwhile, proceedings before the trial court will remain stayed in the defamation case.”
Arvind Kejriwal and Atishi had approached the Supreme Court after the Delhi High Court refused to cancel the criminal defamation case filed by Babbar. The defamation case is based on their 2018 statements alleging that names of a large number of voters were removed from the electoral rolls in the national capital.
The Delhi High Court, in its earlier decision dated September 2, had observed that the statements made by the AAP leaders were “prima facie ‘defamatory’” and appeared to have been made with the intention of “vilifying the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)” and for “gaining undue political mileage.” The court had dismissed the request made by Atishi, Kejriwal, and other AAP leaders to cancel the defamation case.
Besides Kejriwal and Atishi, the criminal defamation complaint also named two other AAP leaders—Sushil Kumar Gupta and Manoj Kumar.
The High Court had further ordered the AAP leaders to appear before the trial court for a hearing that was scheduled for October 3.
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In their plea to the High Court, the AAP leaders had challenged the trial court’s order summoning them. They said that the complaint filed by Rajeev Babbar was “politically motivated” and claimed that he was “not an aggrieved party.”
They had specifically asked the court to cancel the orders passed by the magistrate court on March 15, 2019, and the Sessions court on January 28, 2020.
Case Title: Arvind Kejriwal v. State (NCT of Delhi ) & Anr. [SLP (Crl) No. 13279/2024]
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