PM's degree row: SC rejects Sanjay Singh's plea against summons in defamation case

New Delhi: The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday rejected a plea by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh, questioning the issuance of summons by the trial court in a defamation case filed by Gujarat University in connection to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s academic degree.

A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Sandeep Mehta declined to entertain the petition by Singh, saying the Gujarat High Court has left it open for the parties to raise all contentions before the trial court.

Appearing for Singh, senior advocate Rebecca John questioned that 'how come the Gujarat University was defamed as the petitioner had not even named it'.

She mentioned that Singh client never uploaded any video on X and also said that her client never said that the Gujarat University has forged any degree. "It was incumbent on the university to find out from Twitter if any such video was uploaded," she said.

The council also said that the University was a state according to the Article 12 of the Constitution, so a complaint must have been filed by the public prosecutor.

The court, however, pointed out that only a prima facie case is needed at the stage of complaint.

Singh approached the apex court seeking to quash the summons issued to him in the matter by an Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate. The Gujarat High Court had in February this year, refused to grant Singh any relief in the matter.

The Gujarat University through its registrar had filed a criminal defamation case against the two AAP leaders - Singh and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for making "sarcastic and derogatory" statements against the varsity regarding PM Modi's degree.

The varsity said that the alleged derogatory remarks by Kejriwal and Singh in the press "tarnished its goodwill".

The two AAP leaders had held a press conference in Delhi on April 1 and 2, 2023, over the academic degrees of PM Modi.

The event was held a day after the Gujarat High Court quashed the order directing the Gujarat University to provide post graduate degree of PM Modi under the Right to Information Act (RTI).

The court not only quashed Kejriwal's plea, but it also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on him.

Both Kejriwal and Singh were issued summons to appear by a Magistrate Court in Ahmedabad, on April 15, 2023.