New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday apologised earlier than the Supreme Court for retweeting a video deemed defamatory and initially circulated by YouTuber Dhruv Rathee in 2018. A bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta has instructed the trial courtroom to quickly halt proceedings within the defamation case in opposition to Kejriwal.
Legal Challenge
Kejriwal, the nationwide convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), has contested the February 5 ruling of the Delhi High Court, which declined to dismiss the summons issued in opposition to him. The High Court maintained that sharing allegedly libellous content material constitutes a violation of defamation legal guidelines.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Kejriwal, conceded the ”mistake”, emphasizing that had they been conscious of the implications, the retweet wouldn’t have occurred. Singhvi sought a delay within the trial courtroom proceedings, citing the swift prosecution in opposition to Kejriwal. He remarked on the expeditious nature of the prosecution and expressed intent to request an adjournment earlier than the trial courtroom.
Acknowledging Kejriwal’s present place, Justice Khanna indicated that Kejriwal needn’t be current in courtroom at current.
The bench instructed the complainant’s advocate to establish if the case could possibly be resolved given Kejriwal’s acknowledgement of the error. The complainant’s advocate agreed to seek the advice of his consumer, and the matter was adjourned for a listening to on March 11.
Temporary Relief to Kejriwal
The bench ordered a relisting of the case on March 11 and directed that the trial courtroom chorus from additional motion within the meantime.
Defamation Complaint Against Kejriwal
The defamation criticism stemmed from Kejriwal’s retweet of a video by a YouTuber in 2018, whereby the founding father of a Twitter web page named ‘I Support Narendra Modi’ was accused of performing akin to ‘BJP IT CELL Part-II’. This retweet prompted the Twitter web page’s founder to file a defamation criticism in opposition to the Chief Minister.
