SC stays defamation case against Rahul
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New Delhi : In an interim order passed on Monday, the Supreme Court directed the halting of trial court proceedings in a defamation case filed by a BJP worker against Congress MP Rahul Gandhi over the latter's alleged defamatory remarks against Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
During one of his public speeches in Jharkhand’s Chaibasa before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the senior Congress leader had called Shah a "murder accused".
A bench headed by Justice Vikram Nath took note of the submission advanced on Rahul Gandhi’s behalf that only an aggrieved person and not a proxy third party can institute a criminal defamation complaint.
Staying the defamation proceedings till further orders, the Bench, also comprising Justice Sandeep Mehta, remarked, "If you are not the person aggrieved, how can you have a proxy filing of complaint?"
"Issue notice to the state of Jharkhand and the complainant. All proceedings in the trial shall remain stayed till further orders," ordered the apex court.
In February last year, the Jharkhand High Court dismissed Rahul Gandhi’s plea for quashing the criminal defamation case filed by BJP leader Navin Jha.
Gandhi imputed the BJP leadership to be “liars” who are “drunk with power” and BJP workers will accept a person “accused of murder” as the party president but people will never accept the same in the Congress party.