Ahmedabad, Gujarat: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh presented a legal argument before an Ahmedabad sessions court on Wednesday. They contended that jurisprudence has long held that “a government or its organs cannot sue citizens.”
This assertion came during the ongoing hearing of criminal revision pleas filed by Kejriwal and Singh, challenging the summons issued to them in a criminal defamation case linked to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s academic degrees.
Last week, on September 2, the Principal District and Sessions Judge of Ahmedabad city civil sessions court transferred the criminal revision pleas to the court of Additional Sessions Judge JM Brahmbhatt, following directives from the Gujarat High Court. The High Court also mandated that the revision pleas must be resolved within 10 days from the date of assignment.
The defamation complaint, filed by Gujarat University (GU) Registrar Piyush Patel before the Ahmedabad Magistrate Court, alleges that Kejriwal and Singh, represented by advocate Aum Kotwal, defamed the university with their statements to the media in response to the High Court’s decision to set aside an order from the Central Information Commission. The CIC had instructed GU to “search for information” regarding PM Modi’s degrees.
Advocate Somnath Vatsa, representing Kejriwal, argued that the GU, being a state organ, could not initiate a defamation suit, as per the precedent set by the Supreme Court. He also cited provisions in the Gujarat University Act that indicate the University “shall have perpetual succession and a common seal and shall sue and be sued by the said name.”
Vatsa further questioned whether the Registrar had the authority to file the defamation suit and criticized the Magistrate Court for not considering the broader context of the alleged defamatory statement made during an approximately eight-minute long press conference. He argued that the trial Magistrate Court had only examined a small portion of the entire speech.
Advocate Farrukh Khan, representing Singh, supported Vatsa’s arguments and asserted that the government cannot sue its citizens, as it would lead to a proliferation of defamation cases. He emphasized that GU could not be considered a political opponent of the AAP leaders, rendering the complainant’s reasoning invalid.
The court has scheduled the next hearing for September 8.
