In a recent development, the Supreme Court on Monday decided to extend the stay on the trial court proceedings against Congress MP Shashi Tharoor for another four weeks regarding a defamation case. This case was initiated over his contentious “scorpion on Shivling” remark, which was aimed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The bench, consisting of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti, directed the Delhi police and the complainant, BJP leader Rajiv Babbar, to file their responses to Tharoor’s plea within the newly granted period. “The interim order (of stay on the defamation proceedings) to continue,” the bench affirmed.
This judicial pause follows the top court’s earlier decision on September 10, where it halted the trial court’s proceedings. The defamation complaint against Tharoor was sparked by his comments made in October 2018, where he relayed a metaphor used by an unnamed RSS leader comparing Modi to “a scorpion sitting on a Shivling.” Tharoor had described the metaphor as “extraordinarily striking,” which led Babbar to claim that his religious sentiments were offended.
The genesis of this legal battle stretches back to April 27, 2019, when Tharoor was summoned as an accused by the trial court following Babbar’s complaint. Tharoor had subsequently challenged this at the high court on August 29, which declined to quash the defamation proceedings, prompting him to approach the Supreme Court.
