SC in Tharoor Defamation Case: ‘Let’s Close This’
A complaint was filed over Tharoor's assertion that an unnamed RSS leader had compared PM Modi to “a scorpion sitting on a Shivling,” which Tharoor had described as an “extraordinarily striking metaphor”.;
The Supreme Court today urged the parties to close the defamation proceedings initiated against Congress Leader Shashi Tharoor by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Rajiv Babbar.
"Let us close all this ...", Justice MM Sundresh told the counsel before him who sought an adjournment.
While allowing the adjournment sought by the counsel, the bench also comprising Justice NK Singh went on to add, "Why to get so touchy...judges and politicians come in the same group..should have thick skin..".
Last year court had stayed the defamation proceeding against Tharoor, while observing, "A metaphor is good enough to substitute a thousand words...I don't know why somebody has taken offence in that".
Babbar had filed a complaint following Tharoor's assertion that an unnamed RSS leader had compared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “a scorpion sitting on a Shivling,” which Tharoor had described as an “extraordinarily striking metaphor”.
The Congress leader has moved supreme court against the Delhi High Court's denial of his petition to quash the summons issued by the Trial Court. Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta rejected Tharoor’s petition and instructed the parties to appear before the Trial Court on September 10, 2024. The court determined that there were insufficient grounds at this stage to quash the proceedings, concluding that it would be in the interest of justice to allow the trial court to proceed with the case.
Rajiv Babbar, the complainant, expressed profound hurt as a devotee of Lord Shiva, asserting that Tharoor’s statement disregarded the sentiments of millions of Shiva devotees both in India and abroad. Babbar’s complaint accused Tharoor of deliberately committing a malicious act intended to outrage the religious feelings of Lord Shiva’s followers, describing Tharoor's statement as an “intolerable abuse” and “absolute vilification” of the faith of millions.
High Court had earlier granted Tharoor a final chance to present his submissions in a plea challenging the defamation proceedings brought against him by a BJP leader over his alleged “scorpion on Shivling” remark concerning PM.
On October 16, 2020, the High Court stayed the criminal proceedings against Tharoor and sought a response from complainant Rajiv Babbar regarding Tharoor’s plea challenging the summons issued by the Trial Court.
Tharoor had sought to overturn the Trial Court’s April 27, 2019, order summoning him as the accused in the criminal defamation case and requested the quashing of the November 2, 2018, complaint. He argued that the Trial Court’s order was legally erroneous and contrary to established criminal jurisprudence, contending that Babbar’s complaint was “completely false and frivolous”.
Before the High Court, Tharoor's counsel had argued that the trial court's order was legally flawed and contrary to established principles of criminal jurisprudence, as it neglected the fact that Babbar's complaint was ''completely false and frivolous''.
Babbar filed the complaint under sections 499 (defamation) and 500 (punishment for defamation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Tharoor was granted bail in the case by the trial court in June 2019.
Case Title: SHASHI THAROOR vs. STATE OF N.C.T OF DELHI AND ANR
Hearing Date: August 1, 2025
Bench: Justices MM Sundresh and N Kotiswar Singh