Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Tuesday dismissed a petition by Congress politician Rahul Gandhi that challenged summons issued to him by a magistrate on a defamation complaint over his alleged 2018 statements against PM Narendra Modi related to the Rafale fighter aircraft deal.“In 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 Criminal Procedure Code. Considering overall facts and circumstances, this court finds no infirmity in the impugned order,’’ said Justice Nitin Borkar.
The criminal defamation complaint was filed by BJP functionary Mahesh Shrishrimal before a Girgaon magistrate stating that Gandhi’s statements were made in a rally in Rajasthan and had hurt the sentiments of all BJP members.
The magistrate issued summons against Gandhi in August 2019. Gandhi received the summons in July 2021 and then moved the high court seeking quashing of the proceedings. On December 16, 2021, the high court, in an interim order, had deferred the proceedings before the magistrate.
Shrishrimal’s advocate Rohan Mahadik opposed Gandhi’s petition insisting that the statements targeted all BJP members. Senior advocate Sudeep Pasbola, for Gandhi, argued that the complaint was frivolous, non-maintainable, and intended to harass adversaries. He said only an aggrieved person could file it.
Advocate General Milind Sathe countered that an individual BJP member also qualifies as an aggrieved person with locus standi and legal right to file the complaint. He urged that the complaint should not be quashed at the preliminary stage.
In the order, Justice Borkar said: “On prima facie reading of the defamatory statement, inter alia, describes the Prime Minister, who is also the prominent face of the said political party, as having engaged in the acts of theft while being the Commander of Thieves.”
Justice Borkar said: “Therefore, at this threshold, it cannot be said that the alleged defamatory imputation is incapable of extending to those clearly identified with the party and its leadership, including its office-bearers.”
Whether the imputations were confined to the PM alone, or whether and to what extent they cast the shadow upon BJP members and functionaries “is a matter requiring an appreciation of evidence and context…a determination that must await trial rather than be conclusively answered by this court… “, said the high court.
After the order, Gandhi’s advocate requested a stay on the order for eight weeks to approach the Supreme Court. After Mahadik opposed it, Justice Borkar stayed the order for six weeks.
Courtesy : TOI
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