Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday extended its interim stay on proceedings against the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in connection with a case against him for allegedly making objectionable remarks in Uttar Pradesh during the 2014 Lok Sabha campaign.
A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and S V N Bhatti decided to examine the appeal filed by Kejriwal.
“Let the interim order continue,” the bench said.
The court, however, said such kind of matters should not have to be dealt by the top court.
Kejriwal has been accused of promoting enmity between classes in connection with elections under section 125 of the Representation of the People (RP) Act, 1951.
He filed the plea in the apex court challenging the order of the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court, which refused to discharge him in the criminal case pending before a trial court at Sultanpur.
In May 2014, Kejriwal had allegedly said, during the campaign, “Jo Congress ko vote dega, mera manana hoga, desh ke saath gaddari hogi, Joh Bhajapa (BJP) ko vote dega use khuda bhi maaf nahin karega (Those who will vote for the Congress will be betraying the nation, and God will not forgive those who will vote for the BJP).”
In his plea, the AAP leader said he had not referred to any religion or caste but only a political party.
He contended that a political party cannot be considered as a class of citizens for the purposes of Section 125 of the Representation of People Act.
Kejriwal also asked whether a case under Section 125 can be made out without there being any video clip or full transcript of the alleged speech made by him.