The Delhi High Court has dealt a blow to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) by rejecting their bid to quash a defamation case. The case revolves around allegations made by Kejriwal and other AAP leaders concerning the alleged deletion of 30 lakh voter names from Delhi’s electoral rolls.
The controversy began with a December 2018 press conference where AAP leaders, including former Rajya Sabha member Sushil Kumar Gupta and party leaders Manoj Kumar and Atishi, accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of orchestrating the voter removal. They claimed that the BJP specifically targeted individuals from the ‘Baniya, Poorvanchali, and Muslim communities.’
BJP leader Rajeev Babbar filed the defamation complaint, alleging that the AAP leaders’ statements were aimed at damaging the BJP’s reputation. The AAP leaders argued that their remarks did not specifically target Babbar or his party and that the trial court misconstrued the facts.
Despite AAP’s arguments, the High Court, on Monday, dismissed their plea, upholding the sessions court’s decision to summon them. The court ruled that the summoning order issued by the trial court did not require any interference.
This decision effectively allows the defamation proceedings to continue, leaving the AAP leaders facing the potential consequences of their statements. The case will now proceed before the trial court, with the next hearing scheduled for October 3.
