The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday dismissed Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal’s petition seeking a separate trial from his party colleague, Sanjay Singh, in a criminal defamation case filed by Gujarat University after their comments about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s academic qualifications, Live Law reported.

The court had reserved its verdict in the matter in December.

A single bench of Justice MR Mengdey dismissed the pleas filed by the AAP leaders who had moved the High Court after their pleas seeking a separation of trial were rejected by the trial, city sessions coand magistrate courts.

Kejriwal had argued before the sessions court that he and Singh should not be tried together as the dates of the alleged incidents were different, Live Law reported.

It was submitted that both leaders had uploaded separate videos on their personal social media accounts and that evidence against one could not be used against the other.

On December 15, the sessions court observed that Kejriwal had held a press conference on April 1, 2023, and Singh on April 2, 2023, during which they used defamatory language that tarnished the image and reputation of Gujarat University.

The videos of the press conferences were later uploaded on social media, Live Law reported.

The court had said at the time that the term “same offence” indicates the “same act of crime” as per Section 223 of the now-repealed Code of Criminal Procedure that lays down instances where persons can be jointly accused of a crime.

“If they are animated by a common purpose, and there is a continuity in their action, then surely there is one transaction so far as they are concerned,” the court had said at the time.

The defamation suit

On March 31, 2023, the Gujarat High Court quashed a 2016 directive of the Central Information Commission asking the Gujarat University to provide details about the prime minister’s degrees to Kejriwal. The Central Information Commission is the top appellate body under the Right to Information Act.

The Gujarat University had opposed the order in the High Court, saying that someone’s “irresponsible childish curiosity” cannot be deemed to be in the public interest under the Right to Information Act.

Soon after the judgement, the university filed a criminal defamation case against Kejriwal and Singh, alleging that they had made derogatory statements about Modi’s educational qualifications in the press.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has claimed that Modi was awarded a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Delhi University in 1978 and a Master of Arts degree from Gujarat University in 1983. However, the Aam Aadmi Party has alleged that the degrees are fabricated.

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