Yesterday, a Metropolitan Court issued a production warrant against Sanjay Singh, a member of the Rajya Sabha from AAP who is currently in jail. This action is related to a defamation case stemming from Singh's comments concerning Prime Minister Narendra Modi's educational degree.

The production warrant against Singh was issued by the court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate SJ Panchal.

This decision came after Singh's lawyer informed the court that they had not received any instructions from their client. Singh, a leader of the Aam Aadmi Party, is currently incarcerated in Delhi's Tihar jail, which hinders communication with his legal team.

On October 5, Singh was arrested in connection with a money laundering case linked to the purported excise scam in Delhi. The magistrate, using the production warrant, instructed the local police to retrieve Singh from Tihar jail. They are required to present him before the court at 11 a.m. on January 11, coinciding with the upcoming court session regarding the case for further proceedings.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Singh are accused of tarnishing Gujarat University’s (GU) image through their “sarcastic” and “derogatory” statements in connection with PM Modi’s degree.

During the court's witness examination on Thursday, the lawyer representing Kejriwal submitted a plea seeking exemption from appearance. The court granted this request. However, when Singh's lawyer explained the lack of instructions due to Singh's incarceration, it prompted a strong objection from GU's lawyer, Amit Nair. Nair suggested that this was a deliberate tactic employed by the AAP leader to prolong the case further, indicating an attempt to cause delay.

Following Nair's request, he urged Magistrate Panchal to issue a production warrant against Singh. The court, accepting Nair's plea, proceeded to issue the warrant. Previously, the court had summoned both leaders upon observing a prima facie case against them under section 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The defamation case was filed by GU registrar Piyush Patel against the two leaders regarding their comments made after the Gujarat High Court nullified the Chief Information Commissioner's order pertaining to PM Modi's degree.

They made “defamatory” statements in press conferences and on their Twitter, now X, handles targeting the university over Modi’s degree, the complainant stated.

He said that the AAP leaders’ comments targeting GU were defamatory and hurt the prestige of the university which has established its name among the public.