The Ahmedabad magistrate court has issued a process against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for defaming Gujarat University. Kejriwal and AAP’s Sanjay Singh had made statements implying that the university awards fake degrees.
The Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Jayeshbhai Chovatiya, has observed that their statements are prima facie defamatory. The judge considered the evidence submitted on a flash drive, which included Kejriwal’s tweets and speeches following the Gujarat High Court’s recent ruling.
The High Court had ruled in favor of Gujarat University, stating that the university is not obligated to disclose the degree of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Additionally, Kejriwal was fined 25,000 by the court.
Noting these facts, Judge Chovatiya declared, “The statements made about Gujarat University can be interpreted by a prudent person to mean that the university awards false and bogus degrees and is involved in fake activities and thereby tarnishes the image of Gujarat University.”
The judge noted that the defendants are well-educated political officeholders who are aware of the impact of their statements on the general public.
“It prime facie, appears to have been targeted at the existing Gujarat University. It appears prima facie, that the words uttered are sarcastic and meant to target the varsity. It is natural that the credit, talent and name of Gujarat University will be eroded in the minds of the people due to the alleged scandals,” the judge observed.
The court has expressed that it would be a violation of the people’s trust if political officeholders perform any work out of personal animosity or self-interest instead of fulfilling their duty to their constituents.
Gujarat University has filed a complaint against Kejriwal and Singh under Section 499 of the India Penal Code, accusing them of making derogatory and defamatory statements about the university even after the Gujarat High Court’s ruling. The University claimed that the statements made against them were intended to harm its reputation and were made in jest.
The University has objected specifically to Kejriwal’s comments following the Gujarat High Court ruling:
“Degree kuch idhar-udhar hai. Agar degree hai aur woh sahi hai toh degree de kyu nhi rahe hai ? Gujarat Vishwavidyalaya aur Delhi Vishwavidyalaya aakhir degree ki jaankari kyu nahi de rahe hai? Shayad is liye nahi de rahe hai kyunki ho sakta hai ke degree shayad farzi ho, ya nakli ho. Agar Pradhan Mantri Delhi ya Gujarat Vishwavidyalaya se padhe hai toh Gujarat Vishwavidyalaya ne toh celebrate karna chahiye ke humara ladka hai jo desh ka Pradhan Mantri ban gya. Wo unki degree ko chhupane ki koshish kar rahe hai,” Kejriwal had said.
Kejriwal questioned why Delhi and Gujarat Universities have not provided copies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s degrees, suggesting that the universities might be hiding them because the degrees could be bogus or fake. He also remarked that if Modi had indeed studied at these universities, they should be proud to celebrate him as their student, who has now become the Prime Minister.
According to the university, both Kejriwal and Singh were aware that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s degree had been posted on the university’s website for a considerable amount of time. Despite this, they made contentious remarks with the intention of defaming one of the oldest universities in the state.
The University further contended that Kejriwal made these statements in his personal capacity and not in his capacity as “Chief Minister.” Therefore, his position was removed from the case’s title.
The case is slated for a new hearing on May 23.
