New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday stayed proceedings against Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in two defamation cases, one filed by BJP leader Nitin Gadkari and the other by a lawyer. A bench of Justice Dipak Misra and Justice PC Pant has also agreed to hear Kejriwal’s plea for decriminalizing defamation law.
Facing repeated court appearance in various criminal defamation cases filed against him, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had moved the apex court for stay on proceedings in cases against him. The Aam Aadmi Party leader in his petition also challenged constitutional validity of Section 499 and 500 of IPC making defamation an offence punishable by up to a two-year jail term.
Advocate Surender Kumar Sharma had alleged that in 2013, the AAP approached him and asked him to contest the Delhi assembly elections on a party ticket, saying Kejriwal was pleased with his social services. Sharma claimed that on October 14, 2013, articles in leading newspapers carried “defamatory, unlawful and derogatory words used by the accused persons” which lowered his reputation in the Bar and the society.
In another case, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has alleged that he was defamed by the AAP chief who had included his name in the party’s list of “India’s most corrupt”.
Bureau Report
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