The Supreme Court
on Tuesday quashed a criminal defamation case against Rashtriya Janata Dal
(RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav, who was summoned by an Ahmedabad court last year
over his alleged offending remarks against Gujaratis.
Yadav petitioned
the Supreme Court to have the case moved to a court outside Gujarat, preferably
in Delhi or Patna. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan decided it
was better to end the proceedings since Yadav unconditionally withdrew his
remarks.
The relief came
weeks after the RJD lost power when Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar switched allies. Kumar won a trust vote in the Bihar
Assembly on Monday.
On February 5,
the Supreme Court reserved its verdict in the matter while noting Yadav’s fresh
apology. Yadav on January 19 filed an affidavit in the top court, seeking to
withdraw his alleged remark that “only Gujaratis can be thugs”. On January 29,
the Apex court asked Yadav to file a more appropriate statement to withdraw his
alleged remark unconditionally. Yadav accordingly complied.
The bench, while
hearing Yadav’s plea, earlier stayed the proceedings on the criminal defamation
complaint and issued a notice to Gujarat resident Haresh Mehta who filed it.
The complaint
against Yadav was filed under Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code
(IPC) for alleged criminal defamation. Criminal defamation entails a maximum
punishment of two years in prison.
The Gujarat court
in August 2023 conducted a preliminary inquiry against Yadav under Section 202
of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and found sufficient grounds to summon
him on Mehta’s complaint.
According to the
complaint, Yadav, while talking to the media in Patna in March 2023, said,
“Only Gujaratis can be thugs in the present situation, and their fraud will be
forgiven.” The then Bihar deputy chief minister allegedly asked: “Who will be
responsible if they run away with the money belonging to the LIC or banks?”
Mehta also
claimed that Yadav’s comments defamed all Gujaratis. A “thug” is a rogue, sly,
and criminal person, and such a comparison with the entire community will cause
people to look at Gujaratis with suspicion, Mehta said, while seeking maximum
punishment for Yadav.