In a significant development, the Supreme Court of India has extended its interim order to stay the proceedings of the criminal defamation case against Delhi’s current and former Chief Ministers, Atishi and Arvind Kejriwal. The case, initiated by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Rajeev Babbar, pertains to allegations by Kejriwal and Atishi regarding the purported deletion of voter names from Delhi’s electoral rolls in 2018.
During the proceedings on Thursday, Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti granted a four-week extension to Babbar to file his response. This decision comes after the apex court had previously issued notices to both the Delhi Police and the complainant, seeking their inputs on the matter.
The defamation case, which has now seen its proceedings halted before the trial court, was originally filed by Babbar in response to claims made by Kejriwal and Atishi. They alleged that about 30 lakh voters from certain communities were deliberately removed from the electoral rolls. This accusation was deemed by the Delhi High Court as prima facie “defamatory,” suggesting it was aimed at maligning the BJP and exploiting the situation for political gain.
Despite their appeal to the High Court to quash the defamation proceedings, the plea was rejected, and the court directed the AAP leaders to appear for the next hearing scheduled for October 3. The AAP leaders had argued that the case was politically motivated and that Babbar, not being a directly affected party, did not have the standing to file such a complaint.
