SC stays trial in defamation case against Rahul Gandhi over derogatory remarks against PM Modi

The Supreme Court stayed trial court proceedings in a criminal defamation case against Rahul Gandhi over alleged derogatory remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It issued notices to Maharashtra government and the complainant, seeking responses within four weeks on Gandhi’s challenge

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted interim relief to Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi by staying further proceedings before the trial court in a criminal defamation case over his alleged derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Aparesh Kumar Singh issued notice on Gandhi’s plea challenging the Bombay High Court order refusing to quash the criminal defamation proceedings against him and sought a response from the Maharashtra government and the complainant within four weeks.

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After hearing submissions from senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Gandhi, the apex court ordered, “In the meantime, further proceedings before the trial court shall remain stayed.”

The case stems from a defamation complaint filed by BJP member Mahesh Mukumchand Shrishrimal over alleged remarks made by Gandhi during a rally in Rajasthan in September 2018. The complainant alleged that Gandhi had used expressions such as “Choro Ke Sardar” and “Commander-in-Thief” while referring to PM Modi, thereby lowering the reputation of the Prime Minister as well as members of the BJP.

Shrishrimal, who claimed to have been an active BJP member for nearly two decades, contended that the alleged remarks against the Prime Minister had a wider impact on party members by portraying them as “thieves”.

The Girgaon Magistrate Court issued a summons against Gandhi in August 2019 after considering the material and evidence placed by the complainant. Gandhi subsequently approached the Bombay High Court, seeking the quashing of the criminal proceedings on the ground that the complaint filed by a BJP worker was not maintainable.

However, the Bombay High Court, in an order passed on September 8, declined to interfere with the summoning order, holding that there was no manifest illegality or perversity warranting the exercise of inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

“In the absence of any manifest illegality, perversity in the impugned order, it is not a fit case for interference in exercise of inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 of the CrPC. Considering the overall facts and circumstances, this Court finds no infirmity in the impugned order,” a single-judge Bench of Justice Nitin Borkar had observed.

Rejecting Gandhi’s contention that the complaint was not maintainable, the High Court held that the BJP, being a registered national political party, was an identifiable body. The High Court had further observed that, at the stage of examining the challenge to the summons, it could not be said that the alleged remarks were restricted only to the senior leadership of the BJP.

“On a prima facie reading of the statement describing the PM, who is member of the BJP as a ‘commander-in-thief’, therefore at this stage, it cannot be said that the impugned comment is limited only to the senior leadership of the party,” the order stated.

It added that whether the alleged imputation was defamatory in substance and what impact it had on party members would have to be examined at the stage of trial. While dismissing Gandhi’s plea, the Bombay High Court had granted him six weeks’ protection from appearing before the magistrate to enable him to approach the Supreme Court.

The latest relief comes amid a series of defamation proceedings against the Congress leader over his alleged remarks against political leaders and other public figures. In April this year, the Supreme Court had cautioned Gandhi against making alleged derogatory remarks about freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and warned that it could initiate suo motu action if he made similar statements in the future.

In a separate case concerning his alleged remarks about the Indian Army during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, the Supreme Court had, in August, granted interim relief to Gandhi against a summoning order issued by a Lucknow court and sought responses from the Uttar Pradesh government and the complainant.