'Let's Close This, Why Be Touchy?' : Supreme Court On BJP Leader's Defamation Case Against Shashi Tharoor's 'Scorpion' Remark About PM Modi

The Supreme Court today(August 1) orally remarked that proceedings in the criminal defamation complaint against Congress MP Shashi Tharoor over a "scorpion sitting on a Shivling" remark made about Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018 need to be closed. A bench comprising Justice MM Sundresh and Justice NK Singh was hearing the matter. The advocate for Tharoor asked for adjournment, whereas the advocate of complainant (BJP leader Rajeev Babbar) sought a hearing on a non-miscellaneous day. On this, Justice Sundresh orally said: "What non-miscellaneous day? Let us close this. Why do you want to be touchy about all this? Let us close all this. That way, administrators, political personalities and judges form the same group, they have sufficiently thicker skin. Don't worry."Senior Advocate Pinky Anand responded that the matter will have to be heard anyway. Agreeing to this, the Court listed the matter to be heard on some other day. The interim order granted last year will continue.Last year, on September 10, a bench comprising Justices Hrishikesh Roy and R Mahadevan had stayed the proceedings in a plea by Tharoor challenging the Delhi High Court order of August 29, whereby his plea for quashing the defamation case was rejected. It was submitted that Tharoor had merely quoted from an article published by The Caravan magazine in 2012, which contained an alleged remark by an unnamed RSS leader comparing Narendra Modi to "a scorpion sitting on a Shivling". While speaking at the Bangalore Literature Festival in 2018, Tharoor quoted this expression and termed it an "extraordinarily striking metaphor", the counsel said.Further, it was submitted that the person quoted in The Caravan magazine article repeated the same statement in a video on a news channel later. When the remark was not defamatory in 2012, how could it suddenly become defamatory when Tharoor repeated it in 2018, the counsel contended.It was also pointed out that the criminal defamation complaint (filed by BJP leader Rajeev Babbar) did not make either the magazine or the person who made the original quote a party/accused.BackgroundNotably, Babbar alleged in the defamation complaint that his religious sentiments were hurt by the comments made by Tharoor. He described Tharoor's statement as "intolerable abuse" and "absolute vilification" of the faith of millions of people."I am a devotee of Lord Shiva... However, the accused (Tharoor) completely disregarded the sentiments of crores of Shiva devotees, (and) made the statement which hurt the sentiments of all Lord Shiva devotees, both in India and outside the country", said the complaint.Be that as it may, Tharoor was granted bail in the case by the trial court. Subsequently, he moved the Delhi High Court for quashing of the defamation case. In 2020, the High Court stayed the trial, but recently, this order was vacated and Tharoor summoned to appear on September 10.On August 29, the Delhi High Court refused to grant Tharoor relief, holding that his “scorpion on Shivling" remark not only defamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi but also BJP and RSS and members of the party for having accepted the leadership.Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta further observed that the comment exemplified that PM Modi is unacceptable with many in the RSS establishment and compares the expression of their frustration, as dealing with a leader with the characteristics of a scorpion possessing a venomous instinct.“The comments apparently not only defame Shri Narendra Modi but the party represented by him i.e. BJP, including RSS and the members of the party for having accepted the leadership,” the High Court said.It was added that the imputation against the legislative Head of a political party and the sitting Prime Minister of India has an important bearing on the image of the party, functionaries and the members of the party concerned and does not augur well to the system as it also impacts the electoral process.Case Title: SHASHI THAROOR Versus STATE OF N.C.T OF DELHI AND ANR., SLP(Crl) No. 12360/2024Click Here To Read/Download Order

'Let's Close This, Why Be Touchy?' : Supreme Court On BJP Leader's Defamation Case Against Shashi Tharoor's 'Scorpion' Remark About PM Modi

Gursimran Kaur Bakshi

Tags