Delhi High Court rejects PIL against Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, Arvind Kejriwal for statements against government

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday rejected a plea seeking directions to Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to take action against Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav and Arvind Kejriwal for allegedly making "misleading and false statements" against the government and damaging the "credibility of India" [Surjit Singh Yadav v Union of India and Others]. .The statements referred to in the petition related to Gandhi, Yadav and Kejriwal's assertions that the Central government had waived off loans of industrialists amounting to nearly ₹16 lakh crores. .A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora dismissed the petition after observing that the wisdom of Indian voters cannot be underestimated and they know who is speaking the truth and who is lying.The Court remarked that people of the country also know who is leading and who is misleading them. “Someone will mislead, someone will lead. People will take a call. Don’t underestimate the Indian voters," the Court stated. Acting Chief Justice (ACJ) Manmohan added that if any industrialist or anyone else is aggrieved by the statements made by opposition leaders, they have the wherewithal to move the Court and take appropriate action and a PIL by a third party is not needed.“If the industrialists are aggrieved or the politicians are aggrieved, they will take action… Don’t underestimate the mind of the voter. They are very very smart. They know who is speaking the truth and who is not. Don’t involve us in this. They are political figures,” the Court said..The Bench further said that no orders are called for in the matter and the principle of locus standi cannot be relaxed in favour of the petitioner. “This court is of the view that the industrialists and individuals who are alleged to have been defamed have the means and wherewithal to approach the court and file appropriate proceedings… This Court is also of the view that principle of relaxation of locus standi is not called for in the present situation. This court is also of the view that the petitioner underestimates the wisdom of the Indian voter. Accordingly, this court is of the view that no orders are called for in the present petition and the same is closed,” the Bench recorded in its order..The petition was filed by one Surjit Singh Yadav. He claimed to be a farmer and a social activist and stated that the statements by the opposition politicians has resulted in creating a negative image of India and degraded the country's and central government's credibility. Yadav further claimed that these statements may affect foreign investment and tourism and promote anarchy. "It is well known that as per Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Write off is not same as Waive off but writing off loans has been shown by Respondent no.3 to 5 (Gandhi, Yadav, Kejriwal and news outlets) as waiving off loans. This deliberate twist to the actual meaning of writing off loans by these politicians and media outlets had created confusion in the minds of readers / viewers including in the mind of the Petitioner, thereby, resulting in the image of central government getting downgraded," the plea stated. Yadav further argued that he had a "very glorious image of the Central Government" because of its "developmental work and good governance they had done across the nation" but the news items and allegations by opposition leaders had him convinced against the "glorious image of Central Government"."After hearing and going though these news items, the kind of respect which the petitioner had for the Central government leadership, that respect got shattered and the petitioner’s view about the central government was not only diluted but degraded as well. In fact as a citizen, voter and tax payer, the Petitioner started developing a loss of trust in the Central government," Yadav stated. He added that this all happened because of the news items containing the statements of the opposition leaders and, therefore, "the factually wrong statements made by such political personalities cast an indelible negative impression in the minds of the readers/viewers across the country. including in the mind of the petitioner"..Yadav also sought removal of the statements made by the politicians from the social media platforms, news platforms and the social media handles of political parties..Advocate Suruchi Suri appeared for Election Commission of India (ECI). .Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.