Ahmedabad Court Dismisses Arvind Kejriwal’s Revision Plea in Defamation Case

An Ahmedabad sessions court has dismissed a criminal revision application filed by former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in an ongoing defamation case, holding that the plea was not maintainable in law as it challenged an interlocutory order.

The City Civil and Sessions Court rejected Kejriwal's revision petition after observing that the order passed by the trial court did not finally determine the rights of the parties and therefore could not be challenged through a criminal revision.

Revision plea challenged trial court order

Kejriwal had approached the Sessions Court after the Chief Judicial Magistrate rejected his application under Section 91 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
Through the application, he had sought directions for the complainant to produce certain documents, contending that they were necessary for preparing his defence in the defamation trial.

Complainant opposed the plea

The complainant's counsel, along with the Public Prosecutor, opposed the revision application, arguing that the documents sought belonged to a third party and could not be produced without the necessary consent.

They further contended that the Magistrate's order refusing the request was an interlocutory order, which does not determine the merits of the case and is therefore not open to challenge through a revision petition.

Court finds plea not maintainable

After hearing both sides, the Sessions Court agreed with the objections raised by the complainant and the prosecution.
Holding that the impugned order was interlocutory in nature, the court ruled that the criminal revision application was legally not maintainable and dismissed the plea.
The defamation proceedings before the trial court will now continue in accordance with law.