The Delhi High Court on Thursday (August 29) rejected a plea by Congress Member of Parliament (MP) Shashi Tharoor to quash a criminal defamation case filed against him over his controversial “scorpion” comment on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The order was issued by Judge Anup Kumar Mendiratta, who ruled that there were no grounds to dismiss the proceedings at this stage.
The case arises from a statement Shashi Tharoor Purportedly made in November 2018 during the Bangalore Literature Festival, where he allegedly compared Prime Minister Modi to “a scorpion sitting on a Shivling”.
The comment prompted Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Rajiv Babbar to file a defamation suit against Tharoor, prompting the apex court to summon the Congress leader.
Tharoor, in his defence, argued that he was merely quoting another person, Gordhan Zadaphia, and that the statement had already been in the public domain for several years. His legal team, led by senior advocate Kapil Sibal, maintained that Tharoor did not express any personal opinion but merely quoted an existing journalistic work.
Tharoor’s lawyers further argued that Babbar, as a complainant, was not an “aggrieved person” as defined under Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). They contended that the true context of Tharoor’s speech had been misrepresented and that the complaint was false and frivolous. They also contended that the trial court’s decision to issue the summons was erroneous and contrary to the principles of criminal jurisprudence.
The Delhi High Court set aside its interim order staying the proceedings and directed the parties to appear before the trial court on September 10.
Senior advocate Pinky Anand, along with advocates Piyush Beriwal, Neeraj, Saudamini Sharma, Samrath Pasricha and Ojasvi, represented Rajiv Babbar.
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