'Need not be subjected to warrant': SC grants relief to Shivraj Singh Chouhan in defamation case

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the execution of bailable warrant against Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and two other BJP leaders, subject to their effective participation in a defamation case filed by Congress Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha.     

A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and S V N Bhatti sought Tankha's response on a plea of Chouhan and others challenging the Madhya Pradesh High Court's October 25 order, refusing to quash the defamation case.     

"The execution of bailable warrants against the petitioners shall not be executed subject to their effective participation in the proceedings before the court in the case," the bench said.

Senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, appearing for Chouhan and others, said the purported statements mentioned in the complaint by Tankha were made on the floor of the house and were covered by Article 194 (2) of the Constitution.

Article 194 (2) states, "No member of the Legislature of a State shall be liable to any proceedings in any court in respect of anything said or any vote given by him in the Legislature or any committee thereof, and no person shall be so liable in respect of the publication by or under the authority of a House of such a Legislature of any report, paper, votes or proceedings."

The alleged defamatory statements respectively were made on December 22 2021 and December 25, 2021, in the backdrop of the Madhya Pradesh local bodies elections.  

Jethmalani submitted it was unheard of that in a summons case, a bailable warrant was issued by the court, when the parties could appear through their counsel.   

On October 25, the High Court had refused to quash the defamation case lodged by Tankha against former Madhya Pradesh CM Chouhan, BJP state president V D Sharma and former minister Bhupendra Singh.

On January 20, 2024, a special court in Jabalpur registered the defamation case against the three BJP leaders under IPC Section 500, summoning them in court.