The Supreme Court on February 26 halted trial court proceedings against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal after his counsel agreed that a “mistake” was made by retweeting an allegedly defamatory video circulated by YouTuber Dhruv Rathee related to the Bharatiya Janata Party IT Cell.
A Bench headed by Justice Sanjiv Khanna asked advocate Raghav Awasthi to get instructions from his client, Vikas Sankrityayan, who had filed the criminal defamation complaint against Mr. Kejriwal, as to whether he wanted to close the case in view of the Chief Minister’s apology. The Bench then listed the case on March 11.
“I can say this much that I made a mistake by retweeting,” senior advocate A.M. Singhvi addressed the court on behalf of Mr. Kejriwal.
Mr. Singhvi said the complainant was “hotfooting” the trial in a bid to prosecute Mr. Kejriwal.
Initially, during the hearing, Justice Khanna said it was a matter of fact and evidence whether the post was retweeted as an endorsement or whether it was just an acknowledgment of information.
“When it comes to the question of retweeting, there may be two ways of looking at it. First, it may be an endorsement, which may have consequences. The other is say you spot something on the platform and share it for information. Will all these not be a matter of evidence in the case?” Justice Khanna asked.
The Delhi High Court, on February 5, had refused to quash the trial court summons to Mr. Kejriwal in 2019. The High Court had held that reposting alleged libellous content would attract the defamation law. It had emphasised on Mr. Kejriwal’s status as a public figure, saying the ramifications extend far beyond a mere whisper in someone’s ears.
