Karnataka High Court stays trial court proceedings against Dy CM Shivakumar over defamation case

The Karnataka High Court stayed defamation proceedings against D K Shivakumar and Rahul Gandhi over Congress’s "corruption rate card" ads targeting BJP during the 2023 elections. The BJP alleges the campaign damaged its image with claims of 40 per cent commission governance

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Friday stayed the proceedings of the trial court against Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress President D K Shivakumar in connection with a criminal defamation case.

The bench, headed by Justice S R Krishna Kumar, passed the order granting relief to both Shivakumar and the Karnataka unit of the Congress party. The case in this regard was filed by the BJP’s Karnataka unit.

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Earlier, the court also stayed the trial court proceedings against Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, in connection with the same case.

The BJP had filed a criminal defamation case against Shivakumar and the Congress party over the publication of a “corruption rate card” in regional newspapers and media, which was used as part of the party’s campaign during the 2023 state Assembly elections.

The BJP alleged that the advertisements were released by KPCC President D K Shivakumar and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, then Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly. Rahul Gandhi had shared the same advertisements on his social media account, X, the BJP charged.

The petition further alleged that the Congress party carried out propaganda by publishing full-page advertisements accusing the then BJP government of collecting a 40 per cent commission, branding it as a “40 per cent government.”

The Congress also created posters and advertisements displaying a rate card purportedly set by the BJP government for various government positions and contracts.

The BJP claimed that the publication and circulation of these advertisements — detailing alleged bribe rates and commissions for government posts — had severely damaged the party’s image. The BJP government, led by then Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, was in power at the time.

The BJP also objected to the Congress’s use of the term “trouble engine sarkaar” as a parody of the BJP’s popular slogan “double engine sarkaar”, alleging that it was aimed at damaging the party’s electoral prospects.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar had appeared before the Special MP/MLA Court on June 1, 2024, in connection with the defamation suit filed by BJP General Secretary Keshav Prasad and were granted bail.

Rahul Gandhi appeared before the same court in Bengaluru on July 7 in connection with the case.