On December 12, a Supreme Court bench of Justices S K Kaul and A S Oka refused to dismiss the criminal defamation case filed by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma against Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia over statements made against him by Sisodia in a press conference on June 4, 2022. Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who represented Sisodia, stated that, "The petitioner had not made any false statement. I said you have given a contract. It is a fact. You later on said that this contract was given for charity. That you have said after it came in public domain. Now I have nowhere said that you have received money. He has nowhere said that she has received money."
 
It should be noted that during a press conference held in Delhi on June 4, 2022, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Sisodia allegedly made defamatory statements about Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, accusing him of corruption by awarding a government contract to his wife's company to purchase PPE kits during the first wave of COVID. Sarma served as the state's Health Minister at the time. He also claimed that while purchases from others were made at Rs. 600 per kit, such kits from the CM's wife's company were purchased at Rs. 990 per PPE kit. Following that, Assam CM Sarma filed a complaint petition with the CJM Court in Kamrup, alleging that Sisodia defamed him during a press conference in New Delhi by making defamatory statements levelling corruption charges against him. e High Court had refused to dismiss the case. Following that, Sisodia filed an SLP with the Supreme Court.

Case Title: Manish Sisodia v. State of Assam And Anr. 
Citation: SLP(Crl) No. 11684/2022