New Delhi, Jan 27 (NationPress) The Supreme Court is set to deliberate on Tuesday regarding a petition submitted by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal and former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi. They are seeking to annul the summons issued against them in a defamation suit concerning their comments about the supposed removal of voters’ names from electoral lists.

According to the causelist available on the apex Court's website, this case is scheduled to be heard by a Bench consisting of Justice M.M. Sundresh and Justice N.K. Singh.

Previously, in a significant relief for Kejriwal and Atishi, the top court had halted further proceedings in the defamation case initiated by BJP leader Rajiv Babbar, stating that political discussions must be held to a “higher threshold”.

In an interim ruling, a former Bench led by Justice Hrishikesh Roy (now retired) emphasized that the issue of whether a political party can be regarded as an aggrieved party for filing a defamation suit demands thorough scrutiny.

The Supreme Court had remarked, “Issue Notice returnable in four weeks. In the meantime, further proceedings shall remain stayed.”

In September 2024, the Delhi High Court declined to intervene with the trial court's order summoning the AAP leaders for alleged offences under Sections 499/500 of the now-repealed Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Rejecting the petition, it stated: “The defence advanced by the petitioners that the statements were made bona fide and for the public good must be substantiated during the trial.”

The Bench, led by Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta, noted that “the statements in this case appear prima facie defamatory, intending to malign the BJP and gain undue political advantage by alleging that the BJP was responsible for the removal of names of approximately 30 lakh voters from specific communities.”

Justice Mendiratta further indicated that “political parties have minimal involvement in the addition or removal of names on the voters' list, as this task is designated to the Election Commission in compliance with the law.”

In March 2019, the trial court had summoned Kejriwal, Atishi, and others following a complaint from Babbar, who represented the BJP’s Delhi unit. Babbar’s complaint alleged that the AAP leaders held a press conference claiming that, under BJP's directives, the names of 30 lakh voters from Baniya, Purvanchali, and Muslim communities had been eliminated by the Election Commission. Following the Delhi High Court's refusal to intervene with the trial court's summons, Kejriwal and Atishi approached the Supreme Court seeking to dismiss the entire proceedings.