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Babbar sought action against Kejriwal and AAP leaders for damaging the BJP's reputation by attributing the removal of voter names to the party. He alleged that during a press conference in December 2018, AAP leaders claimed that the BJP had directed the Election Commission of India to delete the names of 30 lakh voters from specific communities.
The Delhi High Court, on Monday, dismissed a petition filed by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal seeking to quash the summons issued in a defamation suit filed by BJP leader Rajiv Babbar. This case pertained to allegations made in 2018 regarding the purported removal of voter names from electoral rolls in Delhi.
The bench of Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta rejected the request by Kejriwal and AAP leaders to overturn a sessions court’s decision, which had upheld a magisterial court’s order to summon them as defendants in the case.
The court deemed the remarks as prima facie defamatory, intended to disparage the BJP by accusing it of orchestrating the removal of voter names. It was observed that these statements were made to gain political advantage. Consequently, the court upheld the trial court's decision to summon Kejriwal and other AAP leaders for defamation.
The court noted that while citizens have the right to obtain accurate information to form opinions about political processes, a political party cannot endorse the media to disseminate defamatory statements against rival parties.
Case Title: Arvind Kejriwal & Ors. v. State & Anr
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