The court allowed a plea filed by the Telangana CM seeking to quash proceedings in the case, which was pending trial before a Special Judicial First Class Magistrate (JFCM) for Excise cases (designated MP-MLA court) in Hyderabad
Telangana CM A Revanth Reddy. File pic
The Telangana High Court on Friday quashed a defamation case filed by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader against Chief Minister (CM) A Revanth Reddy, relating to a speech delivered during the 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign, reported PTI.
The court allowed a plea filed by the Telangana CM seeking to quash proceedings in the case, which was pending trial before a Special Judicial First Class Magistrate (JFCM) for Excise cases (designated MP-MLA court) in Hyderabad.
The complaint had been lodged by the BJP’s Telangana state unit, represented by its General Secretary, Kasam Venkateshwarlu, who alleged that Reddy, while addressing an election meeting in Bhadradri Kothagudem district on May 4, 2024, claimed the BJP would "change the Constitution and abolish reservations" if voted to power.
According to the complainant, this statement was false and misleading, and amounted to BJP’s defamation. Acting on the complaint, the Special JFCM in August 2024 had issued a notice to the CM.
In response, he approached the High Court, challenging the notice and seeking to have the proceedings set aside.
During the hearing, Reddy’s counsel argued that political speeches could not be treated as grounds for defamation. The statement in question, he contended, was a routine political critique of the opposition and could not be classified as defamatory, reported PTI.
It was further submitted that the complaint was filed without proper authorisation from the Telangana BJP. No documentation had been submitted to establish that Venkateshwarlu was authorised to act on behalf of the party in this regard.
In its judgment, the High Court observed: "Even if this Court were to accept that the complainant is a part of the national unit of the BJP and a member of the party, the complaint is not maintainable for the lack of authorisation."
The court further noted that neither the complainant nor his representative, Venkateshwarlu, had been authorised by the BJP’s national leadership to file the case.
"This Court refrains from discussing the contents of the alleged speech and the issue of its defamatory nature. However, this Court agrees with the petitioner’s submissions that, where political speeches are involved, the threshold to allege defamation and maintain a complaint under Section 199 of the CrPC shall be much higher. Political speeches are often exaggerated. To allege that such speeches are defamatory is another exaggeration," the order added.
Earlier, the High Court had also granted Reddy exemption from personal appearance before the trial court.
(With PTI inputs)
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