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SC refuses to entertain plea against Revanth Reddy defamation case quashing
“If you are a politician, you should have thick skin to bear these things,” said a bench of Chief Justice of India Bhushan R Gavai and justices K Vinod Chandran and AS Chandurkar
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a petition against an August 1 Telangana high court order quashing defamation proceedings against chief minister A Revanth Reddy, reiterating that courts are not meant to fight political battles.
“If you are a politician, you should have thick skin to bear these things,” said a bench of Chief Justice of India Bhushan R Gavai and justices K Vinod Chandran and AS Chandurkar. “We have been time and again saying that don’t use the court for fighting political battles.”
The high court noted Telangana Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kasam Venkateshwarlu filed the defamation complaint in his independent capacity after Reddy claimed in May 2024 that the party would abolish reservations if it were voted to power with over 400 seats in the Lok Sabha. “...as the alleged defamatory speech was directed towards the national unit or the BJP, the complainant herein is not directly defamed or aggrieved.”
Venkateshwarlu’s petition called Reddy’s claims during the 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign baseless and false. He argued that it defamed the party and its workers.
Senior advocates Ranjit Kumar and S Gurkrishna Kumar, appearing for the BJP, told the Supreme Court that the complaint against Reddy was filed in connection with “false and baseless allegations”. As the lawyers insisted on issuing notice, the bench warned of imposing costs.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who represented Reddy, called the court’s comment “serious” and the petitioners should reflect upon it.
