The Supreme Court has temporarily stayed trial proceedings in the criminal defamation case against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his alleged remarks referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as “Choro Ke Sardar” and “Commander-in-Thief”, Live Law reported.
“Case of the complainant that he has been active member of BJP for two decades. 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 High Court had reserved its order in February this year after hearing submissions from the complainant, Gandhi and the Maharashtra government on the Congress leader’s plea. The complaint was filed by Mahesh Shrishrimal, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker, before a Metropolitan Magistrate, who subsequently issued summons to Gandhi. The complainant alleged that the remarks targeted the Prime Minister and, by extension, the ruling party and its members, thereby damaging their reputation. Challenging the summons and the continuation of the proceedings, Gandhi approached the High Court, arguing that the complaint was not maintainable.
On a prima facie reading of the statment describing the PM, who is member of BJP as a commander in theif therefore at this stage, it cannot be said that the impugned comment is limited only to the senior leadership of the party. Therefore, this court finds no illegality in the order passed by the Ld Magistrate,” the judge said. Earlier reporting noted: The case stems from a private complaint filed by BJP member Mahesh Shrishrimal in 2018.
Referring to Modi as “Choro Ke Sardar” effectively portrayed all BJP members as “thieves”, entitling party workers to initiate defamation proceedings, according to the complainant. Senior Advocate Sudeep Pasbola, appearing for Gandhi, submitted that the Congress leader had neither named the BJP nor referred to any political party in his tweet, and had not targeted any “identifiable or definite class”. Earlier reporting noted: SC stays defamation proceedings against Rahul Gandhi over 2019 remarks against PM Modi The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed criminal defamation proceedings against Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on his 2019 comments calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi “ Chowkidar Chor hai ”. He alleged 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”.
