The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice seeking responses from the Delhi government and BJP leader Rajiv Babbar regarding a plea by Delhi Chief Minister Atishi and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal. The plea challenges a Delhi High Court order that refused to quash a defamation case against them. The defamation suit involves accusations of voter list tampering that the AAP leaders alleged were perpetrated by the BJP.
A bench comprising Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti not only issued the notice but also stayed the ongoing proceedings in the trial court. During the session, senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing Atishi and Kejriwal, argued that the defamation case was improperly filed by Babbar, who claimed to represent the BJP in Delhi. Singhvi emphasized, “BJP, neither central nor Delhi, has not filed any complaint. Babbar is not the person I have allegedly defamed.”
Conversely, senior advocate Sonia Mathur, representing Babbar, maintained that the BJP leader filed the case legitimately on behalf of the party. The controversy stems from claims made by the AAP leaders that the BJP was involved in the wrongful deletion of voters from electoral rolls, a charge they assert was defamatory towards the BJP.
The Supreme Court’s notice relates back to the September 2 decision by the Delhi High Court, which concluded that the remarks made by Atishi, Kejriwal, and other AAP leaders had prima facie lowered the BJP’s reputation, and were seemingly intended to malign the party and gain political advantages improperly. The High Court had rejected an initial plea to stop the defamation proceedings that involve multiple AAP figures, including former Rajya Sabha member Sushil Kumar Gupta and AAP leader Manoj Kumar.
