New Delhi
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court granted six weeks for a Delhi BJP leader to respond to a plea by Delhi Chief Minister Atishi and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal. The plea challenges a previous order that denied their request to quash a defamation case filed over their alleged remarks on the deletion of voters' names.
A bench led by Justices Hrishikesh Roy and S.V.N. Bhatti adjourned the hearing after Rajiv Babbar, the complainant, requested more time to file his response. Babbar claimed to represent the BJP in the case, supported by a 2019 authorization letter.
The defamation complaint was based on statements made by Atishi and Kejriwal, which Babbar argued harmed the BJP’s reputation. However, senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing the AAP leaders, argued that the statements were part of political discourse and did not defame Babbar personally.
The Supreme Court emphasized that in India, freedom of speech is a fundamental right, and the threshold for defamation complaints in political discourse is higher. The court also noted that defamation complaints should only be filed by aggrieved persons under the law, making it a critical issue for further review. The case continues to unfold as legal arguments are presented.