The Gujarat High
Court on Friday dismissed pleas by Aam Aadmi Party leaders Arvind Kejriwal and
Sanjay Singh to quash the summons issued against them in a criminal defamation
case over their comments on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's educational
qualification.
Through their
pleas, Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal and AAP's Rajya Sabha member Singh had challenged
the summons by a trial court in the case filed by Gujarat University and the
subsequent order of the sessions court dismissing their revision applications
against the summons.
Rejecting their
applications, Justice Hasmukh Suthar directed the two AAP leaders to make their
submissions before the trial court.
Seeking the
quashing of the summons, the two leaders had said that Gujarat University (GU)
cannot file a defamation case before a magistrate court and rather should move
the sessions court.
The metropolitan
court had summoned Kejriwal and Singh on April 15 last year in the defamation
case filed by GU over their sarcastic and derogatory statements in connection
with PM Modi's degree.
The two leaders
then filed a revision application in the sessions court challenging the
summons.
However, the
sessions court upheld the summons, after which they approached the Gujarat HC,
which rejected their plea for an interim stay.
The two leaders
also approached the Supreme Court, which too refused to entertain their pleas.
The HC later
directed the sessions court to conclude the hearing within ten days after
assigning the matter to a new bench.
GU registrar
Piyush Patel had filed a defamation case against Kejriwal and Singh after the
HC in March last year set aside the Central Information Commission (CIC) order
concerning PM Modi's educational qualification.
While the court
imposed a cost of Rs 25,000 upon Kejriwal, it also refused to grant a stay on
the order.
Kejriwal and Singh
made defamatory statements in press conferences and on social media targeting
the university over Modi's degree, GU had said in its complaint.