THE SUPREME COURT TODAY dismissed a petition filed by the Telangana unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (‘BJP’) challenging the High Court’s order which had quashed defamation proceedings against Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy. The complaint was filed by the BJP’s State General Secretary alleging that Reddy, during the 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign, had created a “fake and dubious political narrative” that the BJP, if voted to power, would end reservations.
A Bench of Chief Justice B.R. Gavai and Justices K. Vinod Chandran and Atul S. Chandurkar refused to interfere and cautioned the party against misusing courts for political disputes. “We have been, time and again, saying that don’t use the Court for political battles. Dismissed. If you are a politician, you should have a strong skin to bear all these things,” the Bench observed while rejecting the plea.
This decision once again highlighted the Supreme Court’s stand that courts are not the forum for settling political battles.
The case had its origin in a complaint filed by the BJP’s Telangana General Secretary before the trial court, which in August 2024 issued notice to Reddy holding that a prima facie case was made out. Reddy then moved the High Court, which on August 1 quashed the proceedings. Justice K. Lakshman held that Reddy’s remarks in his speech were directed towards the national BJP and not the Telangana unit, and hence the state unit was not directly aggrieved. The court further noted that even if the complainant were considered a member of the national party, the complaint was not maintainable for want of proper authorisation.
This decision once again highlighted the Supreme Court’s stand that courts are not the forum for settling political battles, reiterating its expectation that politicians must withstand criticism as part of public life.