The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea filed by former Punjab Deputy Chief Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal, challenging criminal defamation proceedings initiated against him over alleged remarks linking the Akhand Kirtani Jatha (AKJ) with the banned terrorist organisation Babbar Khalsa International (BKI).
A Bench of Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Sheel Nagu refused to interfere with the proceedings in Sukhbir Singh Badal v. Rajinder Pal Singh. The defamation complaint was filed by Rajinder Pal Singh, who is associated with the AKJ, a Sikh religious organisation involved in Gurbani kirtan and Sikh religious practices.
The dispute dates back to the 2017 Punjab Assembly election campaign, when then Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal visited Singh’s residence. Following the visit, Badal was reported to have alleged that Kejriwal had begun associating with radicals in Punjab.
Singh subsequently alleged that Badal made statements to the media describing the AKJ as the “political front” of Babbar Khalsa International and identifying Singh as its spokesperson. According to the complaint, the remarks harmed Singh’s reputation by allegedly associating him and the organisation with a banned terrorist outfit.
A Chandigarh magistrate took cognisance of the complaint and summoned Badal. Badal challenged the proceedings before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, seeking quashing of both the complaint and summoning order. The High Court rejected his plea in October 2025, following which Badal approached the Supreme Court.
Appearing for Badal, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal argued that the criminal defamation proceedings should not be allowed to continue. He disputed the allegation that Badal had described Singh as the AKJ spokesperson. Sibal submitted that he was not claiming the individual was a spokesperson, but rather that the individual himself claimed to be one.
Justice Datta, however, referred to newspaper reports relied upon in the complaint, including one attributing to Badal the description of AKJ as the “political front” of BKI. The Bench also referred to another report in which Badal was allegedly quoted as calling Singh the AKJ spokesperson.
Sibal questioned the evidentiary value of the newspaper reports, arguing they could not be relied upon without examining the journalists as witnesses.
The Bench noted that complaint materials showed Badal himself had identified Singh as the organisation’s spokesperson, observing that the difficulty lay in Badal recognising and addressing him in that capacity.
The Bench ultimately declined to interfere with the criminal defamation proceedings and dismissed Badal’s plea, allowing the case before the trial court to proceed.
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