The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the defamation proceedings against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his alleged remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh issued a notice to BJP worker Mahesh Shrishrimal, on whose petition a trial court in Maharashtra had issued summons to Rahul, and posted the matter for further hearing after four weeks.
"Issue notice returnable in four weeks. Further proceedings before the trial court shall remain stayed," the bench ordered on a plea filed by Rahul against a September 8 order of Bombay High Court refusing to quash the summons to him.
The complaint had alleged that Rahul defamed Modi in a public speech on September 20, 2018, in Rajasthan.
It claimed that the Congress leader's statements amounted to direct allegations against all members of the BJP and Indian citizens connected to Modi.
Ruckus complaint
A group of lawyers on Tuesday filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking criminal contempt proceedings against Rahul and other INDIA bloc leaders for allegedly creating a ruckus on Monday at the registry during the filing of a joint petition against the SIR and alleged poll irregularities.
Senior advocate and BJP leader Gaurau Bhatia mentioned the petition for early hearing before a bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant. The bench said it would consider the matter for hearing on Thursday.
The petitioners complained that Rahul and several INDIA bloc leaders had raised slogans on the top court premises and barged into the registry to file the petition.
The alleged unlawful entry of such a large number of people into the top court undermined the dignity and decorum of the institution, the petitioners complained.
The bench, which was scheduled to hear on Tuesday a batch of petitions seeking action against the authorities for the alleged illegal crackdown on protesters at Jantar Mantar, adjourned the hearing to Thursday.
The CJI informed the lawyers that Justice V. Mohana, who is part of the bench along with Justice Joymalya Bagchi, was unwell.