Supreme Court stays trial in defamation case against Rahul Gandhi over remark about PM Modi

The Supreme Court on Tuesday, October 13, stayed further proceedings in a criminal defamation case against Congress MP Rahul Gandhi over a remark about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to PTI and Scroll.in.

The order

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Aparesh Kumar Singh ordered that further proceedings before the trial court in Maharashtra "shall remain stayed," according to a PTI report carried by ThePrint and Kashmir Observer. The bench issued notice to the Maharashtra government and to the complainant and asked for responses within four weeks, PTI reports. It says the matter is listed for further hearing after four weeks, without giving a date. Scroll.in also reports the four-week deadline for responses and does not give a date for the next hearing.

The case

Gandhi had asked the Supreme Court to set aside a September 8 order of the Bombay High Court that refused to quash a summons issued against him, according to PTI. It reports that a Girgaum magistrate issued process by an order dated August 28, 2019, on a complaint by a BJP member. PTI says the complaint concerns a public speech on September 20, 2018, in Rajasthan, although its headline refers to 2019 remarks. Scroll.in says the remark was made at a 2018 rally in Rajasthan about the Rafale fighter jet deal, and describes it as a remark calling the Prime Minister the leader of thieves.

PTI reports that senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Gandhi, argued that earlier Supreme Court decisions settle the law on the issue. According to PTI, the complainant opposed the plea, arguing that as a BJP member he was also aggrieved by remarks about his party's leader. The complaint alleges, according to PTI, that the statements amounted to direct allegations against all BJP members and Indian citizens connected to Modi.

What the lower courts held

Scroll.in reports the reasoning behind the High Court's September 8 refusal to quash the case. It says Gandhi argued before that court that the remark named no political party or its members, and that the High Court rejected this, holding that the BJP, a registered national party, is a clearly identifiable body. The reports read do not say whether the Supreme Court addressed that reasoning in its order.

The stay applies to the trial in the Maharashtra court. The reports read do not describe any finding by the Supreme Court on whether the remark was defamatory, and the case remains pending.