MUMBAI/NEW DELHI — The Bombay High Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea filed by Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha (LoP), Rahul Gandhi, seeking quashing of criminal defamation proceedings against him over his alleged remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A single-judge Bench of Justice Nitin Borkar refused to interfere with the order passed by the magistrate, issuing summons to LoP Gandhi, holding that there was no manifest illegality or perversity warranting interference under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
"In the absence of any manifest illegality, perversity in the impugned order, it is not a fit case for interference in exercise of inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 of the CrPC. Considering the overall facts and circumstances, this Court finds no infirmity in the impugned order," the Bombay High Court observed.
The High Court also rejected the leader's contention that the complaint filed by a BJP member was not maintainable, holding that the BJP, being a registered national political party, is an identifiable body.
Justice Borkar observed that, at the stage of considering the challenge to the summons, it could not be said that LoP Gandhi's alleged remarks were restricted only to the senior leadership of the BJP.
"On a prima facie reading of the statement describing the PM, who is member of the BJP as a 'commander-in-thief', therefore at this stage, it cannot be said that the impugned comment is limited only to the senior leadership of the party," the judge observed.
"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. Therefore, this court finds no illegality in the order passed by the Ld. Magistrate," the order added.
However, the High Court granted LoP Gandhi six weeks' protection from appearing before the magistrate, allowing him time to challenge the order before the Supreme Court.
The defamation complaint was filed by BJP member Mahesh Shrishrimal before the Girgaon Magistrate Court over remarks allegedly made by LoP Gandhi during a rally in Rajasthan in September 2018.
The complainant alleged that the leader had used expressions such as "Choro Ke Sardar" and "Commander-in-Thief" while referring to PM Modi, and claimed that the remarks lowered the reputation of the Prime Minister as well as BJP members.
Shrishrimal, who claimed to have been an active member of the BJP for nearly two decades, argued that the remarks against PM Modi had a wider impact on members of the party by portraying them as "thieves".
The magistrate, after considering the material and evidence placed by the complainant, issued summons against LoP Gandhi in August 2019. He later challenged the summoning order before the Bombay High Court, contending that the complaint filed by a BJP worker was not maintainable and seeking quashing of the proceedings.
The complainant opposed Gandhi's plea, arguing that he had himself been aggrieved by the alleged defamatory remarks and had instituted the complaint in his capacity as a member of the BJP Maharashtra Pradesh Committee.
The Bombay High Court had reserved its order on the plea in February this year after hearing arguments from the Congress leader, the complainant and the Maharashtra government.