In a sharp rebuke on Monday, the Supreme Court dismissed a plea filed by the Telangana unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seeking to revive a defamation case against Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy. The bench, led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai along with Justices K Vinod Chandran and Atul S Chandurkar, upheld the Telangana High Court’s order that had quashed the proceedings last month.
Background
The controversy dates back to the heated run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. BJP Telangana, acting through its General Secretary Kasam Venkateshwarlu, accused Reddy of spreading a false narrative that the national party intended to abolish reservations. The trial court initially issued notice to Reddy in August, noting a prima facie case. However, Reddy challenged the order before the High Court, which struck it down on August 1. Justice K Lakshman, while quashing the case, pointed out that Reddy’s remarks were directed at BJP’s national leadership, not its state unit.
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“The alleged defamatory speech was aimed at the national party, not at the Telangana unit,” the High Court had observed, adding that the state wing lacked proper authorisation to pursue such a complaint.
Court’s Observations
The Supreme Court echoed that reasoning but went a step further, cautioning against the tendency to drag political rivalries into judicial forums. CJI Gavai remarked during the hearing, “We have been time and again saying that don’t use the Court for political battles.” The bench also made it clear that politicians cannot be overly sensitive to criticism.
“If you are a politician you should have a strong skill to bear all these things,” the Chief Justice noted, hinting that the political field cannot be cleansed through endless litigation over speeches and statements.
Senior Advocate Ranjit Kumar represented the BJP, while Reddy was defended by Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi.
Decision
After hearing both sides, the apex court dismissed the appeal outright, affirming that the Telangana BJP had no legal standing in this case. With this, the defamation proceedings against Chief Minister Revanth Reddy stand permanently closed.
Case Title: Bharatiya Janata Party (Telangana) vs. A. Revanth Reddy
Date of Decision: September 2025
