The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition filed by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor and former Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, seeking a separate trial from co-accused AAP leader Sanjay Singh in a criminal defamation matter initiated by the Gujarat University concerning alleged remarks over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s educational qualifications.
The single-judge Bench of Justice MR Mengdey affirmed the applicability of joint trial provisions under Section 223 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, emphasising the continuity of the alleged acts and the shared animus in the statements made.
The petitioner had challenged an order passed by the Additional Principal Judge, City Sessions Court, Ahmedabad, on December 15, 2025, rejecting his revision application to quash a magistrate court decision refusing separation of trial. The magistrate court had earlier held that the statements made by the accused constituted parts of a single transaction, given that the remarks were delivered consecutively on April 1 and April 2, 2023, and were responsive to the Gujarat High Court’s prior order of March 31, 2023, quashing a 2016 Central Information Commission direction concerning disclosure of the Prime Minister’s educational records.
Kejriwal’s application argued that the offences alleged against him and Singh were distinct in nature, occurring on separate dates, through different digital mediums, and via independent social media accounts. It was contended that evidence produced against one accused could not automatically be applied to the other, rendering a joint trial prejudicial and contrary to the interests of justice.
The Sessions Court had observed that both accused had conducted press conferences, wherein defamatory statements concerning Gujarat University were made and disseminated online, thereby affecting the institution’s reputation. The Court relied on Section 223(a) CrPC, which allows a joint trial in cases where persons are accused of the same offence or offences committed in the course of the same transaction. The test, as laid down in established jurisprudence including State of Maharashtra v. Suresh (2000) and Ranjit Thakur v. State of Bihar (2010), requires consideration of whether the acts are animated by a common purpose and exhibit continuity, even if temporally distinct.
The Gujarat High Court affirmed that, given the political affiliation of the accused and the sequence of statements made in response to a prior High Court order, the acts were interrelated and constituted a single transaction for the purposes of joint trial. Consequently, the petition for severance was rejected, maintaining that the case attracted the provisions of Section 223 CrPC.
The original criminal defamation complaint was filed by Gujarat University following the press conferences conducted by Kejriwal and Singh, which allegedly impugned the institution’s integrity. Summons had been issued by the magistrate court, which were subsequently upheld by the Sessions Court in February 2024 against challenges to maintain judicial scrutiny over defamatory publications.
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