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SC stays defamation proceedings against Rahul Gandhi over 2018 remarks against PM Modi
Supreme Court agrees to examine Bombay high court's order refusing to quash 2019 summons to Rahul Gandhi in defamation case over his remarks against PM Modi.
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The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed criminal defamation proceedings against Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on his comments calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “thief” in 2018.
The order was passed by a bench of justices Vikram Nath and Aparesh Kumar Singh on a petition filed by Gandhi challenging a Bombay High Court order from September 8 refusing to quash the proceedings.
Appearing for the Congress leader, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi informed the court that the petitioner seeks a stay of the proceedings because they are not maintainable.
The bench issued notice to the Maharashtra government and the complainant Mahesh Srishrimal and posted the matter after four weeks. “In the meantime, further proceedings before the trial court shall remain stayed,” the court order said.
Gandhi had approached the high court against the summons issued by a Girgaon court in Mumbai on August 28, 2019, based on a complaint filed by Shrishrimal for initiating criminal defamation proceedings (Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code) against him.
The complainant claimed to be a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and objected to Gandhi’s 2018 speech made at a public rally in Rajasthan where he said, “Gali gali mein shor hai, Hindustan ka chowkidar chor hai.” (There is a clamour in every street, India's Watchman is a thief).
It was also stated that these remarks were aired across news channels, social media platforms and newspapers. Subsequently, the complainant alleged that Gandhi commented on a video and published a post the same year saying, “The sad truth about India's Commander-in-Thief."
Srishrimal stated in his complaint that the aforesaid defamatory statement labeled not just the Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a "Commander-in-Thief," but directly accused “all BJP members and Indian citizens associated with him of theft”.
The complainant further produced newspaper articles and alleged that Gandhi repeated the same defamatory remarks at a meeting of Congress workers in Amethi in September 2018. It was against the series of statements that he approached the magistrate court in Mumbai.
Gandhi had told the high court that a case under section 499 IPC relating to defamation applies only to a definite and determinable body of persons and thus cannot be maintained by any individual member of a political party claiming personal defamation.
The high court while dismissing Gandhi's petition, said, “At this threshold stage, it cannot be said that the said defamatory imputation is incapable of extending to those clearly identified with the party. Whether the imputations were in substance confined to the Prime Minister alone, or whether and to what extent they cast their shadow upon the members and functionaries of the party is a determination that must await trial.”
To enable the Congress MP to approach the top court, the high court directed the trial court to defer the hearing of the defamation proceedings for a period of six weeks.
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“In the meantime, further proceedings before the trial court shall remain stayed,” the court order said.
The case stems from a private complaint filed by Shrishrimal, alleging that Gandhi made defamatory remarks against PM Modi during a public rally in Rajasthan on September 20 that year, including the statement, “Hindustan ka chowkidar chor hai”.
Shrishrimal, who sought action to initiate a case under criminal defamation (section 500) of the Indian Penal Code, also alleged that Gandhi, while commenting on a video posted on his personal “X” account (formerly Twitter) on September 24, 2018, referred to the prime minister as “Commander in Thief”. He argued that the remarks amounted to allegations of theft against Modi as well as BJP members and other Indian citizens associated with him.
The Girgaon magistrate court initiated proceedings against Gandhi in 2019, following which he approached the high court. His petition, filed in November 2021, denied the allegations and sought quashing of the proceedings.
Justice NR Borkar of the high court rejected Gandhi’s argument that the BJP was not an identifiable body. “On prima facie reading of the statement, describing the PM, who is a member of the BJP, as a “commander in thief”, cannot be said to be limited only to the senior leadership of the party. Whether the imputation was in substance and what impact it will have on members of the party will have to be considered at the stage of trial,” the judge said while upholding the magisterial court order.
