# Supreme Court dismisses Sukhbir Badal’s plea in defamation case 2026-08-21T14:37:22+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea by Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal challenging criminal defamation proceedings against him. The case stems from his alleged remarks linking the religious group Akhand Kirtani Jatha (AKJ) with the banned terrorist outfit Babbar Khalsa International (BKI). A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu refused to interfere with the lower court proceedings. The complaint was filed by Rajinder Pal Singh, an AKJ member, who said Badal's remarks during the 2017 Punjab Assembly elections damaged his reputation by associating him with the banned organisation. Badal had earlier lost his challenge in the Punjab and Haryana High Court in October 2025 before approaching the top court. The case relates to his comment that then Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had reached out to 'radicals' in Punjab. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The case is a criminal defamation complaint under Section 499/500 of the Indian Penal Code, which can lead to imprisonment of up to two years. Sukhbir Badal is a prominent Akali leader and former deputy chief minister of Punjab, and the Akhand Kirtani Jatha is a Sikh religious organisation that has often been at the centre of political controversy. The complainant must now prove that Badal's remarks were false and harmed his reputation. The next step will be trial before the Chandigarh magistrate, where Badal will have to defend himself. The outcome could affect Badal's political standing ahead of Punjab's next assembly elections. ## Coverage - timesofindia.indiatimes.com Straight news agency style reporting with no discernible slant, reproducing court proceedings and facts. This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Akhand Kirtani Jatha, Babbar Khalsa International, Punjab, Shiromani Akali Dal, Sukhbir Singh Badal, Supreme Court of India Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/supreme-court-dismisses-sukhbir-badals-plea-in-defamation-case/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/supreme-court-dismisses-sukhbir-badals-plea-in-defamation-case/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/