The Supreme Court on Monday stayed trial court proceedings against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a criminal defamation case filed against him for allegedly making defamatory remarks about Union Home Minister Amit Shah during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The defamation case was initiated by BJP worker Naveen Jha, who filed a complaint in 2019 after Gandhi, during a public rally in Chaibasa, Jharkhand, allegedly referred to Amit Shah as a “murderer.” The remarks, Jha claimed, were defamatory and damaging to Shah’s reputation.
A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta issued notices to the Jharkhand government and Naveen Jha, seeking their responses to Gandhi’s appeal. Gandhi challenged a Jharkhand High Court order that had earlier rejected his plea to quash the trial court proceedings in the case.
The alleged remarks made by Gandhi during the 2019 election campaign were brought to the court’s attention by the BJP worker, who argued that they constituted criminal defamation under Indian law. The trial proceedings in a Jharkhand court had gained momentum before the Supreme Court’s intervention on Monday.
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