CHANDIGARH — Sukhbir Singh Badal, the President of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and former Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab, missed his scheduled appearance at the Chandigarh District Court on Friday, February 27, 2026. The veteran politician was expected to appear in person for an ongoing defamation case that has spanned nearly a decade, but his legal team intervened with a last-minute request for exemption.
His counsel, Rajesh Rai, filed the application for exemption from personal appearance early Friday morning, explaining to the court that Badal had traveled to New Delhi for a high-stakes meeting with senior party leadership. According to the defense, the meeting was scheduled for 11:30 a.m., making it logistically impossible for the Akali chief to be present in Chandigarh. The legal team assured the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate that the absence was not intentional and was necessitated by unavoidable political duties.
The case itself dates back to January 2017 and centers on a controversial public statement made by Badal regarding the Akhand Kirtani Jatha. Rajinder Pal Singh, a Mohali resident and the organization’s spokesperson, filed the complaint after Badal allegedly characterized the Jatha as a “political front” for the banned terrorist group Babbar Khalsa International. These comments followed a visit by then-Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to Singh’s residence, an event that Badal used to attack his political rivals at the time. Singh contends that these remarks severely damaged his personal reputation and brought disrepute to the religious body.
This is not the first time Badal has been absent from these proceedings, a habit that has previously landed him in hot water. In December 2025, the court took a stern view of his repeated non-appearances, canceling his bail and issuing a non-bailable warrant. This eventually forced the SAD President to surrender and secure fresh bail in January 2026. A similar request for exemption was also granted on February 2, when Badal cited a major party gathering in Amritsar as the reason for his absence.
Despite several attempts to have the defamation case quashed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, those petitions were dismissed in October 2025, leaving Badal with no choice but to face the trial in the lower court. The defense has once again pledged that their client will honour the court’s schedule and appear in person for the next hearing. As the legal battle continues, the recurring theme of “indispensable” political meetings coinciding with court dates has not gone unnoticed by local observers.
