The Supreme Court on Monday (September 8) dismissed a petition filed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (Telangana) seeking revival of a criminal defamation case against Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy.
A bench led by CJI BR Gavai, along with Justices K Vinod Chandran and Atul S Chandurkar, refused to interfere with the Telangana High Court’s order that had quashed the proceedings.
The case stemmed from Reddy’s political remark alleging that the BJP would abolish SC/ST/OBC reservations if it secured 400 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. BJP’s Telangana General Secretary Karam Venkateshwarlau lodged a complaint claiming the statement defamed the party.
As soon as the matter came up, CJI told Senior Advocate Ranjit Kumar (appearing for BJP): “Dismissed. We have said many times, courts cannot be converted into political battlegrounds. If you are in politics, you should have a thick skin.”
The High Court earlier held that:
1. Alleged defamatory remarks were directed at the national BJP, not BJP (Telangana), and hence the state unit was not a “person aggrieved” under Section 199(1) CrPC.
2. The complaint was filed in Venkateshwarlau’s individual capacity without showing how he was directly aggrieved.
3. Political speeches often involve exaggeration, and treating them as defamation would itself be an exaggeration.
The trial court had initially taken cognizance under multiple IPC provisions (120A, 124A, 153, 153A, 153B, 171C, 171G, 499, 505, 511) and Section 125 of the Representation of Peoples Act, 1951, before the High Court quashed it.
Case Title: Bharatiya Janata Party (Telangana) v. A. Revanth Reddy
SLP (Crl). 13483/2025
