PM Modi degree row: Arvind Kejriwal, MP Sanjay Singh move Gujarat High Court against summons in defamation case

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Member of Parliament Sanjay Singh have moved the Gujarat High Court seeking a stay on proceedings initiated against them for allegedly defaming Gujarat University over the iacademic degree of Prime Minister Narendra Modi [Arvind Kejriwal v. Piyush Patel]..Justice Samir Dave is likely to hear their plea on Friday. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders have sought an interim stay on the proceedings before a magistrate court in Ahmedabad, at least until their revision application against the summons issued by the magistrate is decided. .A magistrate had earlier issued summons to the duo, asking them to remain present on August 11. They challenged the said order before the sessions court, which, on August 5, refused to grant an interim stay on the proceedings. This has prompted them to move the Gujarat High Court for relief. .Gujarat University has sued the two politicians for allegedly making derogatory statements against it for not disclosing the degree of Prime Minister Modi. In an order passed on April 17 this year, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Jayeshbhai Chovatiya had said that the statements made by Kejriwal and Sanjay Singh were prima facie defamatory.The judge passed the order after taking note of the oral and digital evidence shared in a pen drive, which comprised Kejriwal's tweets and speeches made after a judgment of the Gujarat High Court in the matter.In the said High Court verdict, Justice Biren Vaishnav had allowed an appeal filed by University and held that it need not disclose Prime Minister Modi's degree. The High Court had also imposed a fine of ₹25,000 on Kejriwal. .Taking note of these facts, the magistrate opined that the accused politicians were well-educated political office bearers who are aware of the effect of their statements on the public at large, the judge had further pointed out. If political office bearers, instead of fulfilling their duty to their people, do any work for their personal enmity or selfishness, it is considered a violation of the trust of the people, the ACMM court added.Notably, the university has taken exception to the following statements of Kejriwal, which he made after the Gujarat High Court judgment:"Degree kuch idhar-udhar hai. Agar degree hai aur woh sahi hai toh degree de kyu nhi rahe hai ? Gujarat Vishwavidyalaya aur Delhi Vishwavidyalaya aakhir degree ki jaankari kyu nahi de rahe hai? Shayad is liye nahi de rahe hai kyunki ho sakta hai ke degree shayad farzi ho, ya nakli ho. Agar Pradhan Mantri Delhi ya Gujarat Vishwavidyalaya se padhe hai toh Gujarat Vishwavidyalaya ne toh celebrate karna chahiye ke humara ladka hai jo desh ka Pradhan Mantri ban gya. Wo unki degree ko chhupane ki koshish kar rahe hai." (Translation: There is something wrong. If there is a degree, then why aren't they giving the degree? Why are Delhi and Gujarat Universities not giving out the copies of the degrees? May be because the degree is bogus or fake. If the Prime Minister has studied from Delhi University or Gujarat University, then they ought to celebrate the fact that he is their student, who has now become the Prime Minister. But they are hiding the degrees.)