The Supreme Court Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta has stayed criminal defamation proceedings against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who was accused of defaming Union Home Minister Amit Shah by referring to him as a "murder accused" during a 2018 speech.

The case originated from a Complaint filed in 2018 by BJP leader Navin Jha, which was initially dismissed by a magistrate court in Ranchi. Dissatisfied, Jha filed a revision petition before the Judicial Commissioner, who overturned the dismissal and directed the magistrate to re-examine the evidence and issue a fresh order on whether there was prima facie material to proceed.

Subsequently, the magistrate found sufficient evidence to proceed under Section 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and summoned Gandhi. Gandhi challenged this decision in the Jharkhand High Court, where Justice Ambuj Nath observed that Gandhi’s statements, including that "BJP leaders are liars drunk with power" and that BJP workers "accept a person accused of murder as their president," were prima facie defamatory under Section 499 of the IPC. The High Court also cited Explanation 2 of Section 499, which covers defamation against groups or associations, and dismissed Gandhi’s plea.

Gandhi then moved the Supreme Court. Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing on his behalf, argued that the defamation complaint was impermissible as it was filed by a third party. The Supreme Court has now stayed the proceedings and sought responses from the Jharkhand government and the complainant.

Source: News