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The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the proceedings against Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi in a criminal defamation case against him.
Gandhi had earlier moved the court seeking a stay on the dismissal, by the Bombay High Court, of his plea to quash a defamation complaint filed by Rajesh Kunte, secretary of the Bhiwandi unit of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Kunte had alleged that the Gandhi scion, in an election rally at Sonale on March 6, 2014, had accused RSS of killing Mahatma Gandhi.
The Indian Express had earlier quoted Gandhi as having said in justification of his speech: “As per the petitioner, the assassination of Mahatama Gandhi was a result of destructive philosophy of the persons associated with RSS. It was also clearly suggested (in the speech) that the assassins were associated or affiliated with the RSS.”
Gandhi had contended that Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code, carrying an imprisonment of up to two years, violated the principle of proportionality in comparison to the gravity of the offence. He had also said that the defamation law violated the fundamental right of freedom of speech. A Bench led by judge Dipak Misra tagged it along with identical pleas, made separately by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy, to be heard on July 8.
Gandhi had also sought striking down of the two Sections since these dampened citizens’ drive to engage in legitimate public critique, besides potentially causing high-level political misdeeds, in a writ petition settled by senior advocates Mahalakshmi Pavani, P P Rao and H P Raval.
The court also exempted Gandhi from appearing before the Bhiwandi court on May 8.
