SC Adjourns Tejashwi Yadav’s Plea Seeking Transfer Defamation Case Outside Gujarat

The Supreme Court on Friday adjourned the hearing on Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav’s petition seeking the transfer of a criminal defamation complaint against him in a magisterial court in Ahmedabad until January 22, 2023.

A bench of Justices A S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan, deferred the matter after senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Yadav, requested time to seek instructions to file an affidavit regarding the withdrawal of the alleged remarks made by his client.

The top court had previously stayed the proceedings in the criminal defamation complaint and issued notice to the Gujarat resident who filed it.

The complaint against Yadav involves sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for alleged criminal defamation.

In August, the Gujarat court conducted a preliminary inquiry under section 202 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and found sufficient grounds to summon Yadav based on the complaint filed by Haresh Mehta, a local businessman and activist.

According to the complaint, Yadav, speaking to the media in Patna in March 2023, allegedly stated, “Only Gujaratis can be thugs in the present situation, and their fraud will be forgiven.” He also purportedly asked, “Who will be responsible if they run away with the money belonging to the LIC or banks?” Haresh Mehta claimed that Yadav’s comments defamed all Gujaratis.