"Made a mistake," says Arvind Kejriwal in SC over retweeting defamatory video of YouTuber
The Hindu
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal admits mistake in retweeting defamatory video, Supreme Court directs trial court to halt proceedings.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on February 26 submitted before the Supreme Court that retweeting the video which was allegedly defamatory and was circulated by YouTuber Dhruv Rathee in 2018, was a "mistake".
A Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta directed the trial court not to proceed with the defamation case against him for the time being.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief has approached the apex court, challenging the February 5 order of the Delhi High Court refusing to quash the summons issued against him. The High Court had said that reposting alleged libellous content would attract defamation law.
The summon was issued in a defamation complaint lodged against him for retweeting a video of a YouTuber on the social media platform 'X'.
During the hearing, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Mr. Kejriwal, told the apex court, "There is no problem in admitting that this was a mistake if he had known that these would be the consequences."
Mr. Singhvi requested an adjournment before the trial court, saying that they were prosecuting Mr. Kejriwal swiftly.
"They are prosecuting him very fast. They are hotfooting it. We will request an adjournment before the trial court," he said.