Supreme Court stays Delhi government's defamation circular against media houses

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government's circular that directed officials to draw its attention to any media report which maligned either the chief minister or the government so that defamation action could be initiated against those responsible for it.

A bench, comprising Justices Dipak Misra and PC Pant, questioned the move to issue such a circular amid negative reports in the media against some of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party members, especially since the chief minister had recently challenged the constitutional validity of Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code which make defamation a penal offence.

“On one hand you are challenging the provisions of Sections 499 and 500 IPC and then you have issued this circular. The two things can't go together,“ the bench observed. “What was the need for issuing the circular? How many states have issued such circulars?“ the bench asked Kejriwal's counsel Arvind P Datar, before ordering a stay on the circular.

Datar said that three states had earlier issued similar circulars and sought more time to reply to these queries, but the bench would not hear of it. “In criminal jurisdiction you can't issue a policy circular,“ Justice Misra said.

Kejriwal had earlier moved the court against a defamation case filed against him by former Union minister Kapil Sibal's son Amit Sibal over his remarks that Sibal senior had as minister misused his office to have Sibal junior appointed as a counsel for telecom operator Vodafone. Sibal was at that time in charge of the telecom ministry . The case was registered in 2007, but reached the top court recently.

The bench had on May 1 stayed the defamation proceedings against Kejriwal. On Thursday, the bench told his counsel to explain the contrarian Delhi government circular within six weeks.