Today, On 1st August, Supreme Court asked BJP leader Rajiv Babbar to withdraw his defamation case against Shashi Tharoor over the ‘scorpion’ remark, saying, “Why get so touchy? Judges and administrators have thick skin.”
New Delhi: The Supreme Court directed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Rajiv Babbar to drop the defamation lawsuit against Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, stemming from Tharoor’s remark comparing Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a scorpion.
A Bench comprising Justices MM Sundresh and N Kotiswar Singh questioned why individuals in public roles should be sensitive about such comments.
The Bench stated,
“Let us close all these things. Why to get so touchy about all this? This way, administrators and judges come in the same group and have thick skin,”
The Court was considering a plea from the senior Congress leader challenging a Delhi High Court decision that refused to dismiss the case against him. Ultimately, the Court postponed the matter at the request of the respondents’ counsel.
A trial court had previously issued summons to Tharoor following the defamation lawsuit filed by Babbar against the Congress leader.
The defamation case stems from a complaint filed in November 2018 by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Rajiv Babbar, who accused Tharoor of quoting an unnamed Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) official mentioned in a Caravan magazine article from March 2012.
While discussing his book The Paradoxical Prime Minister: Narendra Modi and his India at the Bangalore Literature Festival in October 2018, Tharoor highlighted the “extraordinarily striking metaphor” used by the anonymous RSS member.
Tharoor subsequently approached the Supreme Court after the Delhi High Court denied his request to quash the defamation proceedings on August 29, 2024.
Following this statement, BJP leader Rajiv Babbar filed a defamation case against Tharoor, arguing that the remark was derogatory and hurt the sentiments of Hindus, as it portrayed the Prime Minister in a disrespectful manner, particularly in relation to religious imagery. The trial court took cognizance of the complaint and subsequently issued summons to Tharoor, calling for his appearance in the defamation case.
Tharoor challenged this summons, seeking to have the case dismissed.
However, on August 9, 2023, the Delhi High Court refused to quash the defamation proceedings, leading to Tharoor’s appeal before the Supreme Court. Tharoor’s legal team has now approached the apex court, seeking urgent relief from the trial court’s summons. The case continues to attract public attention, given its sensitive nature involving political and religious sentiments.
Case Title: Shashi Tharoor v State of NCT of Delhi and anr