An Ahmedabad Sessions Court on Thursday refused to quash and set aside the summons issued to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and AAP MP Sanjay Singh by a trial court in connection with a criminal defamation case pertaining to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s degree, reports The Indian Express.
The court of Additional Sessions Judge JM Brahmbhatt dismissed two criminal revision applications moved by the two AAP leaders. The revision applications challenged the summons issued by an Ahmedabad magistrate court.
The AAP leaders are facing a criminal defamation case in Ahmedabad. They were initially summoned to appear before the court on April 15. Fresh summons were issued to them on May 23.
A complaint was moved by Gujarat University registrar Piyush Patel following press conferences by the two AAP leaders in April.
Patel, in his complaint, cited statements of Kejriwal, when he spoke at a press conference on April 1, as, “If PM studied from Delhi University, Gujarat University, then Gujarat University should celebrate that their alumnus has become the Prime Minister and yet they are trying to hide,” “degree is not being shown because maybe the degree is fake, forfeited,” and “if the degree is there and it is real, then why is it not being given?”
Patel alleged defamation based on Singh’s statements, as “Prime Minister is putting his all to prove a fake degree as right”.
Kejriwal and Singh had made the remarks after the Gujarat High Court set aside an order of the Central Information Commission (CIC) that had directed the varsity to “search for information” regarding PM Modi’s degrees, Patel has alleged