The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the Arvind Kejriwal’s plea challenging the criminal defamation case filed by the Gujarat University Registrar against him. The case pertains to his remarks about Prime Minister Modi’s educational degree. Mr. Kejriwal had approached the Supreme Court challenging Gujrat high court’s order refusing to quash the summons in the defamation case.
The bench stated that it was not inclined to interfere in the matter because a similar plea by AAP leader Sanjay Singh was dismissed on April 8, 2024. In the Supreme Court hearing, Kejriwal’s counsel argued that the case lacked merit. Mr Singhvi claimed that the complaint was filed by the Gujrat University Registrar, who wasn’t mentioned in Kejriwal’s remarks.
‘Habit of Making Reckless Statements..’
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the university, drew the attention of the bench towards the order passed in Sanjay Singh’s case. He highlighted that the high court had passed strictures against Kejriwal and had even imposed costs on him. During the hearing, Singhvi expressed that Kejriwal is ready to express a word of regret for his statement. But the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta objected to this. He said, “The present complainant is in the habit of making reckless statements and then saying sorry. From the time of late Arun Jaitley. He should be more circumspect.”
Singhvi, argued that the intent was to disqualify his client from political life. He asked the bench to give him permission to submit an apology statement and a comparison chart. He said he would like to highlight the discrepancies between his and Sanjay Singh’s assertions.
The bench agreed and allowed Singhvi to present his case. However, it cautioned that once it starts hearing the arguments the petitioner cannot withdraw. The bench said that the decision would be made on merit basis. Ultimately, Singhvi conceded, leading to the dismissal of the matter in light of Sanjay Singh’s order, without going into the merits.