The Supreme Court on Monday extended the stay on defamation proceedings against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for retweeting a video by Youtuber Dhruv Rathee making certain allegations against BJP IT Cell.
The bench comprising Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Datta adjourned the matter on a request by Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi appearing for Arvind Kejriwal. The Senior Advocate said that after the last hearing, the parties could not get into touch to discuss settlement.
Subs, the court granted time to enable the parties to explore settlement, mentioning that Kejriwal’s counsel will do the needful. Advocate Raghav Awasthi appeared for the complainant. The case was posted to August 12, with directions for interim order to continue.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal initiated the present proceedings pursuant to a defamation case lodged against him for retweeting a video on social media platform ‘X’ making certain allegations related to BJP IT Cell. At first, he moved the Delhi High Court against summons issued in the case. Nonetheless, the High Court refused to quash the summons. Disappointed, the Delhi CM approached the Supreme Court.
Earlier on February 26, 2024, Senior Advocate Singhvi stated that Arvind Kejriwal was ready to admit that the retweet was a mistake. He added that the top Court allowed time to the complainant to decide whether he was agreeable to the case being closed. Meanwhile, the trial court was instructed not to take up the matter.
When the matter was last taken up in March, whilst extending the stay on trial proceedings, the bench suggested that the complainant give a format of the apology sought from the Delhi Chief Minister on public platforms, which if acceptable to him will put an end to the matter. Furthermore, it was clarified that if the parties fail to resolve the matter as such, the legal issue of whether retweeting constitutes a criminal offence will be taken up and decided.