The Supreme Court on Friday extended the stay on defamation proceedings against Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, related to his 2018 comment likening Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “a scorpion on a Shivling.”
The remark, which Tharoor attributed to an unnamed RSS leader during a public event, became the basis of a criminal defamation case filed by BJP leader Rajeev Babbar, who alleged it insulted the Prime Minister and hurt religious sentiments.
‘Why Be So Touchy?’: SC Questions Complainant’s Objection
During the hearing, a bench of Justices M M Sundresh and N Kotiswar Singh adjourned the case after Tharoor’s lawyer sought more time.
When the complainant’s counsel insisted the matter be heard on a full hearing day (a “non-miscellaneous” day), the bench reacted sharply:
“What non-miscellaneous day? Why do you want to be so touchy about all this? Let us close all this,” the judges remarked.
The court has now scheduled the matter for further hearing on September 15.
Tharoor Challenges Delhi HC Decision
Tharoor had approached the top court after the Delhi High Court on August 29, 2024, refused to dismiss the defamation case and directed him to appear before the trial court on September 10.
The High Court said that the remark — even if quoted from a previous article — was “despicable and deplorable” and could prima facie defame not just Prime Minister Modi, but also the BJP and its supporters. The court found sufficient grounds to proceed under Section 500 of the IPC, which deals with criminal defamation.
Defense
Tharoor’s legal team argued that the remark was not his own but a reference to a metaphor published in The Caravan magazine back in 2012, long before he mentioned it in 2018.
They contended that, Tharoor made the statement in good faith, which is protected under Section 499’s exceptions (defamation law).
The complainant and BJP members do not qualify as “aggrieved persons” under defamation law.
The comment, as a metaphor, aimed to reflect on Modi’s political stature, not to demean him or religion.
Earlier, Justice D Y Chandrachud, while hearing the matter, remarked, “It is a metaphor about invincibility. I don’t know why it offended anyone.”
Origin Of The Controversy
In October 2018, Tharoor publicly quoted an RSS member as having described Modi as “a scorpion sitting on a Shivling — you can neither remove it with your hand nor strike it with a slipper.”
He described the analogy as “extraordinarily striking,” sparking political backlash and eventually, the criminal complaint.
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