The Supreme Court has repudiated to stay the trial against the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the criminal defamation case filed by the Gujarat University over the remarks made by him in connection with the academic degree of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Court reported that the petition by Kejriwal seeking stay of the trial was pending before the Gujarat High Court and is posted on August 29.
The Court observed that they were not inclined to issue notice in the SLP, as the matter is still sub-judice before the High Court.
The court also added that they hope and trust that the High Court will decide the petition on the said date.
A bench comprising Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice SVN Bhatti was hearing the special leave petition filed by Kejriwal against the Gujarat High Court’s refusal to grant him interim relief.
The Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Ahmedabad, who holds the trial in the case, had earlier summoned Kejriwal and co-accused AAP MP Sanjay Singh.
Senior Advocate Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi, submitted before the Supreme Court that the summoning order is wrongly issued in the instant case.
Providing a background of the case, Singhvi said that against the wrong summoning order, a revision petition was filed before the Sessions Court.
The Sessions Court issued notice on the revision petition,and it refused to stay the trial.
A petition was filed under Section 482 CrPC which refused interim relief, while posting the matter to August 29.
Singhvi said that the trial court was going at breakneck speed. The next date is August 31. The next date of revision is in October 31. The trial court might conclude even it in September.
It is important to note that the bench expressed disinclination to interfere considering that the High Court is seized of the matter.
The University was represented by Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta who submitted that there were innuendos in the comments made by Kejriwal.
The SG contended that serious suppression of facts has taken place in the case.
The SG said that the trial court has allowed exemption from personal appearance; however, this fact was suppressed by Kejriwal in the petition filed before the High Court.
The SG also said that the matter should be allowed to be raised before the High Court.
The bench considering the request, said that they must record that a number of pleas have been raised by the Solicitor General on behalf of the Gujarat University.
The said pleas can be raised before the High Court.
The University in the defamation case has alleged that the sarcastic and derogatory statements against the varsity over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s academic degree defamed it.
In March, the Gujarat High Court had quashed an order passed by the CIC for disclosure of the details of the degree of PM Modi and imposed a cost of Rupees 25,000 on Kejriwal.