The Supreme Court, on Tuesday, put an interim stay on proceedings in the criminal defamation case against Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, which stemmed from his controversial "scorpion sitting on a shivling" remark about Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018. A bench comprising Justices Hrishikesh Roy and R Mahadevan was hearing Tharoor's appeal against an August 29 order from the Delhi High Court, which had rejected his plea to quash the defamation case.
Advocate Mohammed Ali Khan, representing Tharoor, argued that the defamation complaint filed by BJP leader Rajeev Babbar failed to include either the magazine that published the original quote or the person who made the initial statement as accused in the case. Khan argued that Tharoor’s controversial "scorpion sitting on a Shivling" remark about Prime Minister Narendra Modi was protected under the immunity clause of the defamation law. Khan also highlighted that the law provides immunity for comments made in good faith. He further stated that Tharoor’s statement was not original but borrowed from an article published in 2012, when Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat.
Supreme Court issues notice to Raj Babbar
The apex court also issued a notice to Babbar and asked him to file his response within four weeks, following Tharoor's challenge to the criminal defamation proceedings. The Supreme Court bench also sought a response from the Delhi Police and fixed the matter for hearing next after four weeks.
Delhi High Court on Tharoor's case
The Delhi High Court had refused to quash the defamation proceedings against Tharoor on August 29. It had said prima facie, imputations like “scorpion on shivling” against the prime minister are “despicable and deplorable”. The high court had said prima facie, the remarks defamed the Prime Minister, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as well as its office-bearers and members.
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