The Delhi High Court on Monday sought response from BJP leader Rajeev Babbar on a plea by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and other AAP leaders challenging summons issued to them in a defamation case for their alleged remarks over deletion of names from the voters’ list of the Capital.
The court has posted the case for further hearing on November 23. It had on February 28, this year stayed the defamation proceedings in the trial court.
The court said the issue has to be heard expeditiously in terms of a recent directions of the Supreme Court asking the chief justices of all High Courts to list before an appropriate Bench all pending criminal cases involving sitting and former lawmakers where stay was granted.
The Chief Minister and three others — AAP Rajya Sabha member Sushil Kumar Gupta and party leaders Manoj Kumar and Atishi Marlena — have sought quashing of a sessions court order, which upheld a magisterial court’s decision to summon them as accused in the complaint.
Mr. Babbar, on behalf of the Delhi unit of the party, sought the prosecution of AAP leaders for harming the reputation of the outfit by blaming it for the deletion of names from the voters’ list.
AAP leaders in their plea before the High Court have claimed that the trial court failed to appreciate that they did not make or publish any statement against Mr. Babbar or his party as alleged by him.