SC dismisses Kejriwal’s plea in PM Modi Gujarat University degree case
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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal’s plea seeking a stay of criminal defamation proceedings against him by Gujarat University over his remakes about educational qualifications of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, NDTV reported.
The Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) national convener challenged Gujarat High Court order refusing to quash summons in the defamation case.
The defamation case against Kejriwal stemmed from his questioning of Prime Minister Modi's academic credentials, particularly his degree from Gujarat University, during a press conference.
Subsequently, Gujarat University took up the matter perceiving it as ‘derogatory’ damaging its reputation with the university's registrar Piyush Patel filing a criminal defamation suit against both Kejriwal and AAP leader Sanjay Singh.
Following Kejriwal's demand for transparency, the Central Information Commission (CIC) directed the Delhi University and Gujarat University to disclose details about PM Modi's degree.
However, the Gujarat High Court upheld the CIC's order in July 2016, preventing the release of the information.
Kejriwal’s plea came after the Gujarat High Court dismissed his earlier petition in February.