Today, On 8th September, The Supreme Court has dismissed Telangana BJP’s plea against CM A Revanth Reddy over alleged defamatory campaign remarks, with CJI Gavai reminding, “Don’t use the Court for political battles. If you are a politician, you must bear such remarks.”
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea filed by the Telangana unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against alleged defamatory remarks made by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy during the 2024 election campaign.
The case came before a Bench led by Chief Justice of India B R Gavai, along with Justices K Vinod Chandran and Atul S Chandurkar.
During the hearing, the counsel appearing for the BJP submitted that the Telangana High Court had refused to entertain the complaint by saying that the petitioner did not have the required authorisation.
At this stage, CJI Gavai made strong observations against bringing political disputes before the judiciary.
He remarked,
“We’ve repeatedly said don’t use the Court for political battles. If you are a politician, you must have the strength to bear such remarks.”
After these observations, the Supreme Court dismissed the petition.
Earlier, The Telangana unit of the BJP approached the Supreme Court to contest a high court ruling that dismissed a defamation case against Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy regarding his remarks during the 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign.
Earlier, On August 1, the Telangana High Court acted on Reddy’s request to quash the proceedings in the case that was pending in a Hyderabad trial court.
The BJP’s Telangana unit, represented by its general secretary, filed a complaint in May 2024, accusing Reddy of making defamatory and provocative statements about the party on May 4 of the previous year.
The complaint alleged that Reddy colluded with the Telangana Congress Party to fabricate a misleading political narrative suggesting that the BJP would eliminate reservations if it came to power. The complainant claimed that the alleged defamatory remarks tarnished the BJP’s reputation as a political entity.
In August of the previous year, a trial court stated that there was a prima facie case against Reddy for the alleged defamation under the former IPC and under Section 125 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which addresses the promotion of enmity between classes in electoral contexts.
Challenging the trial court’s ruling, Reddy appealed to the high court, arguing that the allegations in the complaint did not establish a prima facie case against him. He contended that political speeches should not be subject to defamation claims.
The high court noted,
“Even if this court were to accept that the complainant is a part of the national unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party and may be treated as a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the complaint is not maintainable for the lack of authorisation.”
The court further stated that neither the complainant nor its representative had the authorization from the national BJP unit to file the complaint. It concurred with Reddy’s argument that the threshold for alleging defamation in the context of political speeches should be significantly higher.
The high court stated,
“Political speeches are often exaggerated. To allege that such speeches are defamatory is another exaggeration.”
Consequently, the court granted Reddy’s request, quashing the trial court’s order and the related proceedings.
Case Title: BHARATIYA JANATA PARTY (TELANGANA) V A. REVANTH REDDY SLP(Crl) No. 13483/2025