SC dismisses Telangana BJP's defamation case against CM Revanth Reddy: 'When in politics...'

Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy. (File: PTI)

A Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India BR Gavai on Monday set aside a petition filed by the Telangana unit of the BJP, seeking the restoration of a criminal defamation case against Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy.

The top court bench, also comprising Justices K Vinod Chandran and Atul S Chandurkar, was hearing a petition filed by state unit of the BJP challenging an order of the Telangana High Court which quashed the complaint filed by BJP general secretary Karam Venkateshwarlau.

The BJP functionary had sought to initiate defamation charges against the Telangana chief minister over the latter's remarks that the BJP would abolish SC/ST/OBC reservations if they manage to win 400 seats in the Lok Sabha elections.

CJI Gavai dismissed the matter as soon as it was taken up, reports Live Law, and reminded the petitioners' lawyer, senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, of the court's repeated assertions in the past that "courts cannot be converted into political battlegrounds".

"If you are in politics, you should have a thick skin. Dismissed," CJI Gavai said, when the petitioner's counsel sought to press the matter further.

While dismissing the complaint, the Telangana High Court had reasoned that the alleged defamatory remarks were made against the national party BJP and that its state unit could not be considered a "person aggrieved".

The High Court had also pointed out that Venkateshwarlau had filed the complaint in his individual capacity, and nowhere in the complaint was it mentioned that he should be considered as an aggrieved person due to being a member of the BJP.

The High Court had also observed that the threshold to allege defamation and maintain a complaint under Section 199 CrPC would be higher in cases where political speeches are involved. "Political speeches are often exaggerated. To allege that such speeches are defamatory is another exaggeration." the High Court observed then.