Why be touchy? SC asks to close defamation case against Shashi Tharoor over 'scorpion' remark on PM Modi- What top court said

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday said that the criminal defamation case against Congress MP Shashi Tharoor regarding his "scorpion sitting on a Shivling" comment about Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018 should be closed, Live Law reported.

A bench, comprising Justices MM Sundresh and NK Singh, heard the matter and, commenting on the case, called it "non-miscellaneous day."


While Tharoor's counsel requested an adjournment, the complainant's advocate (BJP leader Rajeev Babbar) sought a non-miscellaneous day hearing, as per Live Law.

Justice Sundresh remarked: "What non-miscellaneous day? Let us close this. Why do you want to be touchy about all this? Let us close all this. That way, administrators, political personalities and judges form the same group, they have sufficiently thicker skin. Don't worry."

Senior Advocate Pinky Anand responded that the matter will have to be heard anyway. Agreeing to this, the Court listed the matter to be heard on some other day. The interim order granted last year will continue.

In September 10 last year, Justices Hrishikesh Roy and R Mahadevan had suspended proceedings in Tharoor's challenge to the Delhi High Court's August 29 order, which had dismissed his plea to quash the defamation case.

Tharoor's defence noted that he had quoted from a 2012 Caravan magazine article containing an unnamed RSS leader's alleged comparison of Modi. The statement was repeated at the 2018 Bangalore Literature Festival. The counsel questioned how the remark could become defamatory in 2018 when it wasn't in 2012, noting that neither the magazine nor the original speaker were named in the complaint.

Babbar's complaint alleged that Tharoor's statement offended religious sentiments, describing it as "intolerable abuse" and "absolute vilification" of millions' faith. The complainant stated: "I am a devotee of Lord Shiva... However, the accused (Tharoor) completely disregarded the sentiments of crores of Shiva devotees, (and) made the statement which hurt the sentiments of all Lord Shiva devotees, both in India and outside the country".

The Delhi High Court's Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta observed that the comment suggested PM Modi's unacceptability within the RSS establishment. The court determined that the remarks defamed not only Modi but also the BJP, RSS, and party members who accepted his leadership, noting its impact on the party's image and the electoral process.

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