New Delhi, Oct. 13: The Supreme Court on Tuesday halted trial court proceedings in a criminal defamation case against Rahul Gandhi over alleged derogatory remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, granting interim relief to the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha while examining his challenge to a Bombay High Court order.
A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Aparesh Kumar Singh issued notice on Gandhi’s petition and directed the Maharashtra government and complainant Mahesh Mukumchand Shrishrimal to respond within four weeks. The order keeps the trial court proceedings on hold while the Supreme Court considers Gandhi’s challenge.
The case arises from a complaint filed by Shrishrimal, a BJP member, over remarks Gandhi allegedly made at a rally in Rajasthan in September 2018. The complainant alleged that Gandhi referred to Modi using expressions including “Choro Ke Sardar” and “Commander-in-Thief”, arguing that the remarks damaged the Prime Minister’s reputation and portrayed BJP members as thieves. Shrishrimal said he had been an active party member for nearly two decades.
The Girgaon Magistrate Court summoned Gandhi in August 2019 after examining the material and evidence submitted by the complainant. Gandhi later moved the Bombay High Court to quash the proceedings, arguing that a complaint filed by a BJP worker was not maintainable.
On September 8, the High Court rejected his plea, finding no manifest illegality or perversity in the magistrate’s order that warranted intervention under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. It held that the BJP, as a registered national political party, constituted an identifiable body and that, at the stage of examining the challenge to the summons, the alleged remarks could not be treated as confined to the party’s senior leadership.
The High Court said the question of whether the alleged statements were defamatory and what impact they had on party members required examination during trial. It granted Gandhi six weeks’ protection from appearing before the magistrate to allow him to approach the Supreme Court.
During Tuesday’s hearing, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi represented Gandhi. The Supreme Court’s interim order suspends further proceedings before the trial court pending consideration of the challenge.
The case is among several defamation proceedings involving Gandhi over alleged remarks about political leaders and public figures. In April, the Supreme Court cautioned him over alleged derogatory comments about freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and warned it could initiate suo motu action if similar statements were made. In a separate case concerning alleged remarks about the Indian Army during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, the court granted him interim relief in August against a summoning order issued by a Lucknow court and sought responses from the Uttar Pradesh government and the complainant.
