The Supreme Court has agreed to consider listing on Tuesday (September 10, 2024) the petition of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor against a decision of the Delhi High Court. The Delhi High Court had refused to quash the defamation proceedings against Tharoor for his alleged ‘scorpion on Shivling’ remark targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud heard the matter till 6 pm on Monday, while normally the hearing is held till 4 pm.
A lawyer requested the bench to hear the petition on Tuesday, else the Congress leader will have to appear before a Delhi court on the same day in connection with a private defamation complaint. “It is urgent. We request it to be listed tomorrow. The Delhi High Court had dismissed Shashi Tharoor’s case,” the lawyer said.
CJI Chandrachud said, ‘Just send the email. I will investigate it right away.’ On August 29, the Delhi High Court refused to quash the defamation proceedings against Shashi Tharoor. The High Court had said that prima facie, allegations like scorpion on Shivling against the Prime Minister are disgusting and reprehensible.
The High Court had said that prima facie, the remarks defamed the Prime Minister, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as well as its office bearers and members. Dismissing Shashi Tharoor’s plea seeking quashing of defamation proceedings pending in the lower court, the High Court had said that there was sufficient material to summon him under Section 500 (punishment for defamation) of the Indian Penal Code before a judicial magistrate.
On October 16, 2020, the High Court had put an interim stay on criminal proceedings against the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala in a defamation complaint. Later, it lifted the interim order and directed the concerned parties to appear before the trial court on Tuesday (September 10).
It had said that it cannot be ignored that the allegation against the legislative head of a political party and the Prime Minister of India has a significant impact on the image of the party, its office bearers and members concerned, and is also not a good sign for the system as it impacts the electoral process.
The High Court had said, ‘Prima facie, the allegations levelled against the present Prime Minister are abhorrent and reprehensible and the Honourable Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi Apart from defaming the BJP, they also defame the Bharatiya Janata Party and its office bearers and members. The court had said that since the complaint was filed by BJP’s Delhi unit vice-president Rajiv Babbar, the complainant falls within the category of aggrieved person under Section 199 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
Shashi Tharoor had sought quashing of the trial court’s April 27, 2019 order summoning him as an accused in the criminal defamation complaint filed by Babbar and the November 2, 2018 complaint. Babbar had filed a criminal complaint against Tharoor in the trial court, claiming that the Congress leader’s statement had hurt his religious sentiments.
In October 2018, Tharoor had claimed that an unnamed Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader had compared Modi to a “scorpion sitting on a Shivling”. The Congress leader had said that it was an extraordinary metaphor. Tharoor got bail from the lower court in this case in June 2019. The complainant had said, “I am a devotee of Lord Shiva… However, the accused (Tharoor) completely disregarded the sentiments of crores of Shiv bhakts (and) made such a statement, which hurt the sentiments of all Shiv bhakts in India and outside the country.
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