New Delhi: On Monday, the Delhi High Court declined to quash the defamation proceedings against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and other Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) members, including Atishi, Sushil Kumar Gupta, and Manoj Kumar. The defamation case relates to their comments about the alleged deletion of voter names from the electoral roll.

The court found that the remarks made by the AAP leaders were "prima facie defamatory," suggesting that their statements aimed to malign the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by alleging its involvement in removing voter names. Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta, who presided over the case, dismissed the AAP leaders' defense that their statements were made in "good faith" for "public good," asserting that this defense must be proven in court.

The High Court ruled that the remarks were made to "gain political mileage" and upheld the trial court’s decision to summon Kejriwal and the other AAP leaders on charges of defamation. The court also lifted the interim stay that had been placed on the proceedings and directed all parties to appear before the trial court on October 3.

The defamation case stems from allegations made in 2018 by AAP leaders, including Kejriwal and Atishi, accusing the BJP of deleting over 30 lakh voter names from the electoral roll, particularly targeting voters from specific communities. BJP leader Rajeev Babbar had filed the complaint, claiming that these allegations were intended to damage the BJP's reputation.

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