Delhi HC rejects plea to quash proceedings against CM Kejriwal, others in defamation case

The Delhi High Court on Monday refused to quash the proceedings against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and other AAP leaders in a defamation case over their remarks about alleged deletion of the names of 30 lakh voters belonging to some communities from electoral rolls here, saying the imputations prima facie lowered down the reputation of BJP.

The high court said the imputations were prima facie "defamatory" with an intention of vilifying the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and gaining undue political mileage.

Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta dismissed the plea by Kejriwal and three others -Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) former Rajya Sabha member Sushil Kumar Gupta, Minister of Education Atishi and party leader Manoj Kumar challenging the defamation proceedings pending before the trial court.

The high court, which had on February 28, 2020 stayed the proceedings, vacated the interim order and asked the parties to appear before the trial court on October 3.