The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea filed by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal seeking quashing of a 2017 criminal defamation complaint against him.
Badal had moved the apex court challenging an October 2025 order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court refusing to quash the complaint and a March 2020 summoning order passed by a judicial magistrate.
According to the complaint, Badal, the then deputy chief minister of Punjab, alleged in January 2017 that religious organisation 'Akhand Kirtani Jatha' (AKJ) was a "political front" of terrorist outfit Babbar Khalsa International.
The complainant, who filed the complaint in individual capacity, had claimed that he was the chief spokesperson of AKJ.
Badal's plea came up for hearing on Friday before a bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu.
"We have read this order. What is alleged against you (Badal)? You say that this organisation is a terrorist organisation and this complainant is the spokesperson of the other organisation which is the political front...," the bench told Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, who was appearing for Badal.
Sibal said Badal had not said that the complainant was the spokesperson of the organisation.
"He (complainant) says he is the spokesperson. We don't know who has authorised him," the senior advocate said.
The bench then dismissed the plea.
Badal had earlier approached the high court seeking quashing of the complaint and the summoning order, along with all subsequent proceedings.
The complainant had alleged that in January 2017, the then Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had visited his house and news about it was published in the media.
He claimed that Badal had made the alleged defamatory statement at political rallies and also in the media and they were reported in newspapers.
Badal's counsel had argued before the high court that the alleged imputations did not even prima facie constitute defamation.
His counsel had also argued that there was no authorisation by AKJ to the complainant to institute the complaint.
Dismissing Badal's plea, the high court had said, "It goes without saying that the observations made in this judgement are for deciding this petition which will have no bearing on the proceedings before the magistrate, who will decide the complaint on its own merits."