The Supreme Court has postponed the hearing of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's petition challenging a Delhi High Court decision that upheld a summons issued to him in a criminal defamation case. The case stems from Kejriwal's retweet of a video by YouTuber Dhruv Rathee in May 2018, which was allegedly defamatory.

A three-judge bench, including Justices Sanjiv Khanna, Sanjay Kumar, and R. Mahadevan, noted that ongoing negotiations between the parties have not yet concluded. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Kejriwal, requested additional time to finalize a settlement. The complainant’s counsel agreed that more time could be granted but not indefinitely.

The Supreme Court has scheduled the next hearing for six weeks from now. On February 26, Kejriwal admitted to the court that reposting the video was a mistake. The court had earlier inquired if Kejriwal might issue a public apology via social media.

Previously, the Supreme Court had halted trial court proceedings related to the defamation case and directed that any further legal action be paused until further notice. The Delhi High Court had upheld the trial court's 2019 decision to summon Kejriwal, arguing that retweeting defamatory content has broader implications than a private comment.

The case began when Rathee’s 2018 tweet accused an account, "I Support Narendra Modi," of operating as part of the BJP IT Cell. Kejriwal’s retweet led to a defamation complaint by the account’s founder.