Court lists defamation case against CM Atishi and Arvind Kejriwal for arguements on charge

BJP leader Rajeev Babbar had filed a defamation case against AAP leaders in 2020. The High court last week dismissed the appeal against the trial court proceedings.

Additional Chief judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Tanya Bamniyal listed the matter for consideration of arguments on charge and appearance of accused persons on October 3.

The Delhi High Court last week while dismissing plea challenging the defamation proceedings, had said that citizens have the right to truthful and accurate information. The court had also stated that mud-slinging by political parties is not permissible.

Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta had remarked that in a democracy, citizens have the right to truthful and accurate information. However, he stressed that mud-slinging by political parties cannot be tolerated. The court found that the allegations made by the AAP against the BJP were defamatory and aimed at vilifying the BJP to gain undue political advantage.

The Court while passed the order, also vacated its interim order granting stay to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Atishi, and other AAP leaders in the summons order passed by the trial court. The court had ordered them to appear before the trial court.

Kejriwal and other AAP leaders had challenged the ongoing defamation case proceedings in the trial court, which were initiated by BJP Delhi leader Rajeev Babbar.

Babbar had accused Kejriwal and other AAP leaders of defaming the BJP by alleging that the party was responsible for removing a total of 30 lakh names of electors from the Delhi electoral rolls, with the people mainly belonging to the 'Baniya', Muslim and other communities.

In February 2020, the Delhi High Court had stayed the proceedings in the defamation case against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and other AAP leaders.

AAP leaders had approached the Delhi High Court and sought the quashing of two court orders: the magisterial court's order dated 15 March 2019 and the sessions court's order dated 28 January 2020.

Rajeev Babbar, through the defamation case, sought proceedings against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and other Aam Aadmi Party leaders, naming Sushil Kumar Gupta, Atishi Marlena, and Manoj Kumar. Babbar alleged that they harmed the BJP's reputation by accusing the party of being responsible for the deletion of voters' names from the electoral rolls in Delhi.

Earlier in July, AAP leader Atishi Marlena had a defamation case filed against her by BJP leader Praveen Shankar Kapoor over allegations of 'poaching' AAP legislators. Delhi's Rouse Avenue court had granted the AAP leader bail on the matter.

Rajeev Babbar claimed the statements of AAP party leaders were intended to damage the BJP's reputation by targeting specific voter groups, including Bania, Poorvanchalis, and Muslims, resulting in irreparable harm to the complainant's reputation.

Arvind Kejriwal had moved the Delhi High Court in 2020 saying that the defamation complaint was not maintainable, given that it is vague and does not disclose who is the "person aggrieved" maintaining the complaint.

The trial court, in February 2020 had observed that the allegations made by Kejriwal and others are prima facie defamatory and refer to the BJP.

Babbar has contended that the voters' list is the prerogative of the Election Commission and not the BJP. (ANI)