Supreme Court Halts Defamation Trial Against Shashi Tharoor Over Modi Remarks

The Supreme Court has paused proceedings in a defamation case against Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, stemming from his controversial 'scorpion on Shivling' remark about Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The trial court's scheduling and summons date back to 2019. Tharoor's plea aims to overturn a prior Delhi High Court decision.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday temporarily halted proceedings in the defamation case against Congress MP Shashi Tharoor regarding his 'scorpion on Shivling' remark about Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and R Mahadevan issued a notice to the Delhi government and the complainant, returnable in four weeks.

Tharoor had approached the Supreme Court following the Delhi High Court's refusal in August to quash the defamation proceedings.

The defamation suit was initially filed by Rajiv Babbar, who felt his religious sentiments were hurt by Tharoor's statement. The complaint referenced Tharoor's 2018 comments, which were attributed to an unnamed RSS leader comparing Modi to 'a scorpion sitting on a Shivling'.

(With inputs from agencies.)