The Supreme Court on Monday declined to quash the summons issued by the trial court to Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal in a defamation case filed by Gujarat University over comments made by the former Delhi chief minister about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s academic qualifications, Bar and Bench reported.
The bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti noted that a similar plea from Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh had previously been dismissed by the court.
“We are not inclined to interfere since one appellant came before us and it was dismissed,” the court said while rejecting Kejriwal’s petition challenging a ruling of the Gujarat High Court.
While Advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing Kejriwal, argued that Singh’s statements were different, the bench declined to consider the plea.
“It is seen that the complaint filed by respondent 1 [Gujarat University] pertained to not only the present petitioner but also Sanjay Singh whose plea was dismissed by this court on April 8, 2024,” the court noted. “We must be consistent with that approach. Having regard to that view, we would not like to entertain the present plea.”
In March 2023, the Gujarat High Court quashed a 2016 directive of the Central Information Commission asking the Gujarat University to provide details of Modi’s educational qualifications to Kejriwal.
The commission is the top appellate body under the Right to Information Act.
After the judgement, the university filed a criminal defamation case against Kejriwal alleging that he and Singh had made allegedly defamatory statements about the institute in relation to the controversy surrounding the prime minister’s academic qualifications.
An Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate had issued summons to the two leaders in April 2023.
The Aam Aadmi Party leaders had moved to the Gujarat High Court, arguing that the complaint was invalid since the statements were not aimed at the university.
In response, the university called for a trial, contending that the remarks by Kejriwal and Singh had harmed its reputation, Bar and Bench reported.
In February, the High Court refused to quash the summons, prompting Kejriwal and Singh to appeal to the Supreme Court.
The appeal by Singh was rejected by another bench of the Supreme Court in April.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has claimed that Modi was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree from Delhi University in 1978 and a Master of Arts degree from Gujarat University in 1983. However, the Aam Aadmi Party has alleged that the degrees are fabricated.
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