SC stays defamation proceedings against Shashi Tharoor over "scorpion on Shivling" remarks on PM Modi

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed further proceedings before a trial court in a defamation case filed against senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor over his alleged "scorpion on Shivling" remark in 2018 about Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and R Mahadevan also issued notice to Delhi police and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Rajiv Babbar, who complained against Tharoor's remarks, and fixed the matter for hearing next after four weeks.
"Issue notice returnable in four weeks. Further proceedings in pursuance to the impugned judgment is stayed until further orders," the bench ordered.
Tharoor's counsel told the bench that the statement was originally contained in an article published in 2012 by Caravan magazine and later Tharoor made the same statement in 2018.
Tharoor approached the apex court challenging the Delhi High Court's August 29 order by which it had refused to quash the defamation case.
The High Court, which had in October 2020 stayed the criminal proceedings against the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala in the defamation complaint, on August 29 vacated the interim order and directed him to appear before the trial court on September 10.
The trial court had issued summons to Tharoor following the defamation case filed against him by Babbar.
The Congress leader had allegedly made the statement in November 2018 at the Bangalore Literature Festival.
He allegedly said that "Mr. Modi is a scorpion sitting on a Shivling."