Gujarat court denies Kejriwal’s request for speedy hearing in defamation case

Arvind Kejriwal has been accused of making “deragatory” comments at press conferences and on Twitter targeting the Gujarat university over PM Narendra Modi’s educational qualifications

Updated on: Aug 22, 2023, 18:48:29 IST

By Maulik Pathak

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AHMEDABAD: The Ahmedabad sessions court on Tuesday rejected a plea by Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and MP Sanjay Singh, seeking an expedited hearing of their revision petition, aiming for it to take place before August 29—a date determined by the Gujarat High Court in response to Kejriwal and Singh’s request for both a stay of trial and prompt revision petition hearing.

Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal. (Photo credit: PTI)

This request came after the Gujarat High Court dismissed their application for interim relief on August 11 though the court did issue a notice regarding their plea for a speedy hearing.

The Sessions Court today fixed the revision petition hearing for September 16, while the trial before the metropolitan court in the Gujarat University defamation case is to start on August 31, an advocate, appearing for Kejriwal who asked not to be named, said.

Kejriwal has also approached the Supreme Court against the order of rejection of stay by Gujarat High Court and the matter is tentatively fixed on August 25 for hearing before the Apex Court, the advocate said.

On August 11, the Gujarat High Court refused to provide interim stay to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders Kejriwal and Singh regarding the criminal defamation proceedings against them. The defamation case was initiated by the Gujarat University based on comments made by Kejriwal and Singh, which were deemed as “sarcastic” and “derogatory.”

Also Read: Arvind Kejriwal, Sanjay Singh challenge Gujarat court summons in defamation case

Singh and Kejriwal have been accused of making these comments at press conferences, which were then posted on Twitter targeting the university over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s educational qualifications.

A metropolitan court had previously summoned Kejriwal and Singh to appear on August 11 in response to the defamation case. The refusal of the high court to grant an interim stay earlier paved way for the proceedings to continue, pending the outcome of their revision plea in the sessions court.

The metropolitan court had in June summoned Kejriwal and Singh, a decision that the two political leaders challenged before the sessions court.

The metropolitan court’s direction was issued to the AAP leaders on June 8 as the court observed that prima facie there appeared to be a case against them under Indian Penal Code’s Section 500 (defamation).

The defamation case was filed over Kejriwal and Singh’s comments after the Gujarat high court in March this year set aside the chief information commissioner’s order asking the university to provide information on Modi’s degree. The high court slapped a ₹25,000 fine on Kejriwal who had sought the information.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Maulik Pathak
He is an Ahmedabad-based journalist with more than two decades of experience. His career spans business journalism and general news, with reporting across politics, crime, governance, public policy, business, industry, infrastructure, energy, ports, aviation, the environment, wildlife and social issues. He began his career in feature writing before moving into business journalism, reporting on companies and sectors including energy, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, automobiles and real estate. Over the years, his work expanded to politics, courts, crime, public policy, civic affairs, the environment and wildlife. His reporting has taken him from government offices and courtrooms to factory floors, ports, forests and remote villages, covering stories that range from industrial investments and financial markets to elections, conservation and issues affecting everyday life. While many assignments demand the pace of the daily news cycle, others require sustained reporting over months and years to follow developments beyond the headlines. He started his journalism career with the Asian Age in Ahmedabad in 2002 as a feature writer and sub-editor. Since 2022, he has been working with Hindustan Times. Earlier, he worked with Business Standard, DNA, The Economic Times, Mint and The Times of India. His longest stint was with Mint, where he spent more than eight years reporting across multiple beats. During his career, he has worked in both reporting and editing roles, contributing to page planning, local editions and special editorial projects as newsrooms evolved from print-first operations to digital publishing. Early in his career, he also worked on media and documentary projects with an NGO and as a copywriter at a communications agency before returning to journalism. Away from work, he sometimes makes time for a pair of binoculars, table tennis, cinema and the occasional poem.Read More

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