Gujarat HC Rejects Kejriwal, Sanjay Singh Plea in Gujarat University Defamation Case

Ahmedabad | Gujarat — The Gujarat High Court has rejected the petition of former Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal and MP Sanjay Singh, seeking relief from the defamation case filed by Gujarat University over their statements made against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s degree in 2023 on Tuesday. 

Earlier, the Ahmedabad City Sessions Court had rejected the revision petitions of both Kejriwal and Singh, against which they had knocked the doors of the Gujarat High Court. 

Since the Ahmedabad Magistrate’s Court was conducting the criminal defamation case against both the politicians, Kejriwal had applied to separate his trial from that of Sanjay Singh. He claimed that there was no charge of conspiracy or common criminal intent against him, so the court should separate his trial from that of Sanjay Singh.

Sanjay Singh, in his absence but as directed by his lawyers, had challenged the decision of the magistrate court to file his plea in the presence of his lawyer under Section 251 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), claiming that he was innocent. He had sought quashing of this decision, calling it invalid.

What was the whole controversy?

In 2023, during a press conference, Arvind Kejriwal and Sanjay Singh had attacked Gujarat University over PM Modi’s degree. Gujarat University alleged that these statements were highly insulting and had damaged the university’s long-standing reputation. The university had filed a criminal defamation complaint in this matter in April 2023. It is noteworthy that these statements were made within a month of the High Court quashing the Central Information Commission’s (CIC) order to declare the Prime Minister’s MA degree.

In this case, which is going on in the Ahmedabad Magistrate’s Court, Arvind Kejriwal had filed a petition that the trial going on against him should be separated from that of Sanjay Singh. Kejriwal claimed that he was not accused of hatching any conspiracy or furthering a common criminal intent. However, Additional Sessions Judge M. P. Purohit rejected this demand, saying that prima facie it appears that both the leaders were involved in the same chain of events and their intention was the same. According to Section 223 of the CrPC, it is appropriate to conduct a joint trial when the offence falls under the same category.

On the other hand, Sanjay Singh also challenged the order of the lower court. He termed the decision of the Magistrate’s Court to record a plea (claiming innocence) taken in the presence of his lawyer under Section 251 of the CrPC as improper. However, the court rejected his plea, observing that the order passed on the basis of the accused’s own request and in his own interest cannot be sought to be quashed later by the accused.

Gujarat University had filed a defamation complaint in April 2023 regarding the statements made by politicians regarding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s degree. The university said that defamatory statements and insinuations were made that damaged its reputation, based on which the Metropolitan Court took cognizance of the case and issued summons to Kejriwal and Singh.