SC quashes defamation case as Tejashwi Yadav withdraws controversial statement

The Supreme Court has dismissed the defamation complaint against Tejashwi Yadav, a leader of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), concerning his alleged remark, "only Gujaratis can be thugs."

The decision came after Yadav expressed his willingness to withdraw the statement.

The bench of Justices AS Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan granted relief to the former Bihar deputy chief minister, who sought the transfer of the defamation trial to a court outside Gujarat.

In response to the plea, the bench stated, "We have quashed the case in view of the petitioner withdrawing his statement on record. Accordingly disposed of."

On February 5, the Supreme Court reserved its order on Yadav's plea to move the criminal defamation complaint, pending in an Ahmedabad court, to a location outside the state, preferably Delhi. Earlier, on January 29, the top court had directed Yadav to file a "proper statement" withdrawing his alleged remark.

On January 19, Yadav submitted an affidavit to the Supreme Court retracting his "Gujarati thugs" remark. The court, while hearing his plea, had stayed the proceedings in the criminal defamation complaint and issued notice to the Gujarat resident who filed the complaint.

The criminal defamation complaint against Yadav was filed based on his alleged defamatory remarks. A preliminary inquiry conducted by a Gujarat court in August found sufficient grounds to summon Yadav on the complaint filed by Haresh Mehta, a local businessman and activist.

In March 2023, during a media interaction in Patna, Yadav reportedly stated, "Only Gujaratis can be thugs in the present situation, and their fraud will be forgiven." He allegedly questioned the responsibility if they ran away with money from LIC or banks, leading to claims that Yadav's comments defamed all Gujaratis.