The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed trial court proceedings in a criminal defamation case against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his alleged “commander-in-thief” remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in connection with the Rafale fighter jet deal.
A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Aparesh Kumar Singh issued notice on Gandhi’s plea challenging the Bombay High Court’s refusal to quash the criminal defamation proceedings. The respondents have been asked to respond within four weeks.
“Issue notice returnable in 4 weeks. In the meantime, further proceedings before the trial court shall remain stayed,” the Bench ordered.
Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi appeared for Gandhi and submitted that the issues raised in the petition were similar to those involved in another matter pending before the Supreme Court, in which interim relief had been granted. He also referred to a separate case involving Congress leader Shashi Tharoor.
The complaint was filed by Mahesh H. Shrishrimal, a BJP functionary, before a magistrate in Girgaon, Mumbai. It relates to Gandhi’s remarks at a public rally in Rajasthan in September 2018, when he criticised the Prime Minister over the Rafale deal, and his subsequent social media post referring to Modi as “India’s Commander-in-Thief”.
The complainant alleged that the remarks were defamatory and extended beyond the Prime Minister to BJP members and functionaries. A magistrate issued process against Gandhi in August 2019.
On September 8, the Bombay High Court dismissed Gandhi’s plea seeking to quash the proceedings. Justice N.R. Borkar held that there were no sufficient grounds to interfere with the magistrate’s order at that stage.
Gandhi had argued that the complaint was not maintainable because he had not specifically named the BJP or its members in the impugned remarks and that the complainant could not establish that he was a person aggrieved by the alleged defamation.
The High Court observed that whether Gandhi’s remarks were directed solely at the Prime Minister or could also be understood as referring to BJP members was a matter to be examined during trial. It had deferred the trial proceedings for six weeks to allow Gandhi to approach the Supreme Court.
The apex court’s interim order suspends further trial court proceedings pending consideration of Gandhi’s challenge. It does not constitute a final determination of the allegations.
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