SC adjourns hearing on Kejriwal, Atishi plea in defamation case to April 21

The Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned to April 21 the hearing on a plea filed by AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal and former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi , who have challenged orders refusing to quash criminal defamation proceedings against them.

A Bench comprising Justices M.M. Sundresh and N.K. Singh said the matter required a detailed hearing and therefore deferred it. Senior advocate Meenakshi Arora , appearing for the AAP leaders, submitted that the court had earlier indicated the case should be taken up on a non-miscellaneous day and sought an adjournment accordingly.

The defamation case relates to remarks allegedly made by the AAP leaders at a press conference in December 2018 , where they claimed that nearly 30 lakh voters’ names were deleted from Delhi’s electoral rolls at the behest of the BJP. The BJP has denied the allegations, terming them false and defamatory.

The complaint was filed by Rajiv Babbar on behalf of the BJP’s Delhi unit , accusing the AAP leaders of harming the party’s reputation for political gain. The case was registered under Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code , dealing with defamation and punishment for defamation.

The Delhi High Court had earlier refused to quash the proceedings, observing that the imputations were prima facie defamatory and appeared intended to vilify the BJP and gain undue political mileage. It also upheld the summoning orders passed by the trial court, which had been affirmed by a sessions court in 2020.

However, in September 2024 , the Supreme Court issued notice in the matter and stayed the trial court proceedings . The apex court identified a key legal issue for consideration whether a political party can be treated as an “aggrieved person” under Section 199 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for the purpose of maintaining a criminal defamation complaint.

Appearing for the Centre, Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju argued that a political party has a reputation and can authorise a representative to file a complaint on its behalf.

Kejriwal, Atishi and the other accused have maintained that their statements constituted legitimate political speech on an electoral issue and that no offence of defamation was made out against them.

With the trial proceedings remaining stayed, the Supreme Court is expected to hear the matter in detail on April 21 .