Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday declined to quash the defamation proceedings against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and other Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders, including Atishi, Sushil Kumar Gupta, and Manoj Kumar, over their remarks concerning the alleged deletion of voter names from the electoral roll.
During the hearing, the court observed that the statements made by the AAP leaders, which suggested that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was responsible for the deletion of names from the electoral roll in Delhi, were “prima facie defamatory.” The court stated that these remarks appeared to have been made with the intent to malign the BJP’s reputation.
Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta, who presided over the case, dismissed the defense put forward by the AAP leaders that their comments were “bona fide” and intended for “public good,” asserting that such claims would need to be substantiated during the trial.
The high court emphasized that the remarks regarding the electoral roll were likely made by the AAP leaders to “gain political mileage,” thereby upholding the trial court’s order summoning Kejriwal and the other AAP leaders to face defamation charges.
In a related development, the high court vacated its interim order, issued on February 28, 2020, which had previously stayed the proceedings before the trial court. The court has now instructed the parties involved to appear before the trial court on October 3.
The defamation case stems from allegations made by AAP leaders in 2018, including Kejriwal and Atishi, who claimed that the BJP was involved in the deletion of over 30 lakh voter names from the electoral roll, particularly targeting voters from the Bania, Poorvanchali, and Muslim communities.
The complaint was filed by BJP leader Rajeev Babbar, who accused the AAP leaders of “harming” the party’s reputation by making baseless accusations against the BJP in connection with the voter deletion controversy.
Despite efforts by Kejriwal and the other accused to challenge the lower court’s decision to summon them, the Delhi High Court has now ruled that the defamation case will proceed to trial, requiring the AAP leaders to defend their statements in court.
