The Supreme Court, on Tuesday, dismissed the plea of ex-Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal seeking to quash the summons issued in a defamation case filed by Gujarat University over Kejriwal’s questions about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s educational qualifications.
The complaint pertains not only to the present petitioner but also to Sanjay Singh, whose plea was dismissed by this court on April 8, 2024. We must maintain consistency in our approach,” the bench said. A bench headed by Justice Hrishikesh Roy said a similar challenge had already been rejected in April this year in a sister case involving Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh, who is also a co-accused.
The court dismissed Kejriwal’s plea without going into the merits. Kejriwal’s counsel, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, said his case was different from Singh’s and that he needed time to draw a comparison. The bench said it was willing to hear this but cautioned that Kejriwal could not withdraw his petition once arguments started.
Singhvi submitted that no defamation case was made out as Kejriwal merely questioned why the degree relating to the Prime Minister’s educational background was kept a secret. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that the degree was uploaded on the university website, and an order passed by the Central Information Commission was quashed by the Gujarat High Court.
The complaint arose from a press conference on April 2, 2023, shortly after the High Court’s order concerning PM Modi’s degree. The trial is continuing before the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in Ahmedabad, where the summons against Singh were issued on April 15 last year, following which a revision petition by him was dismissed in September.
