New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday refused to quash proceedings against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi Education Minister, former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha member Sushil Kumar Gupta and AAP leader Manoj Kumar in a defamation case filed by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader on behalf the state unit of the party over their remarks about alleged deletion of the names of 30 lakh voters belonging to certain communities from electoral rolls in the national capital.
Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta, while dismissing their plea, said that prima facie, the imputations lowered down the reputation of BJP and undermine the trust of the voters in BJP.
Prima facie, the imputations lower down the reputation of BJP: High Court
“This Court is of the considered opinion that there is a fine distinction between legitimate criticism of the policies of a political party or the government or an organization and intentional malicious imputations, which may be defamatory. The issue highlighted by the petitioners regarding discrepancies in the list of voters prepared and uploaded on the website of Election Commission may have been crucial and critical from the perspective of citizens, but imputing that the exercise of deletion of names of certain communities was at instance of BJP clearly exhibits that the imputations were made with malafides. Prima facie, the imputations lower down the reputation of BJP and undermine the trust of the voters in the said party,” the High Court said.
Kejriwal, Atishi and others moved High Court against a sessions court order upholding order to summon them as accused
Kejriwal and others had moved the High Court against a sessions court order upholding a magisterial court order to summon them as accused in the complaint filed by BJP leader Rajeev Babbar over their remarks.
What did the complainant BJP leader say?
Complainant Babbar said that the reputation of BJP has been lowered in the eyes of people because of malafide, deliberate and false statements/imputations made by Kejriwal, Atishi, Manoj Kumar and Sushil Kumar Gupta, knowing fully well that they were making it mischievously and the statements would impair the reputation of BJP.
A political party cannot be permitted to engage in mud-slinging and making mischievous, false and defamatory imputations on rival political parties: HC
“The citizens have a right to know the truthful and correct information, in order to form appropriate opinion about the social processes. However, at the same time, a political party cannot be permitted to sponsor the print media for political purpose, thereby stinging mud and making mischievous, false and defamatory imputations on the rival political parties. The imputations in the present case are prima facie defamatory, with intention of vilifying Bharatiya Janata Party and gaining undue political mileage by attributing that Bharatiya Janata Party was responsible for deletion of names of about 30 lakh voters belonging to particular communities,” the High Court said.
The High Court, while saying that the defence taken by the AAP leaders that the imputations were made bonafide and in public good needs to be proved and established during the course of trial, said that the trial court’s summoning order for the commission of offences under section 499 (offence of defamation) and 500 (punishment for the offence of defamation) of the IPC does not call for any interference.
