Supreme Court Halts Defamation Case Against Kejriwal and Atishi

The Supreme Court has temporarily paused proceedings in the criminal defamation case against Delhi Chief Ministers Arvind Kejriwal and Atishi over 2018 voter roll deletion comments. Notices have been issued to Delhi Police and BJP leader Rajeev Babbar, who is the complainant in the case.

The Supreme Court has issued an interim order on Monday, staying the criminal defamation case proceedings against current and former Delhi Chief Ministers, Arvind Kejriwal and Atishi. The case is linked to their comments on alleged voter name deletions from the national capital's electoral roll in 2018. The bench, comprising Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti, has notified both the Delhi Police and the complainant, BJP leader Rajeev Babbar, seeking their responses.

In the interim, the trial court proceedings in the defamation case have been halted. Kejriwal and Atishi had approached the Supreme Court following the Delhi High Court's refusal to dismiss the criminal defamation case lodged by Babbar. The remarks at the center of the controversy pertain to alleged deletion of 30 lakh voter names from various communities in 2018.

The Delhi High Court had previously deemed the imputations as prima facie 'defamatory' with intentions of vilifying the BJP for political gain. The defamation complaint also included AAP leaders Sushil Kumar Gupta and Manoj Kumar. The High Court had directed the AAP leaders to attend a trial court hearing scheduled for October 3, following the trial court's upholding of summons issued by a magistrate based on Babbar's complaint.

(With inputs from agencies.)