New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the proceedings in a criminal defamation case against Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over his alleged remarks against the Indian Army over the 2020 Galwan clash with the Chinese.

The top court was hearing Gandhi’s appeal challenging the Allahabad High Court judgment refusing to stay the proceedings initiated in a Lucknow trial court against him over his comments that “Chinese soldiers are beating up Indian Army personnel”.

As per the complainant, Uday Shankar Srivastava, the former director of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), the comments made on December 16, 2022, during Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, defamed the Army. Presiding over a two-judge bench, Justice Dipankar Datta told Senior Advocate A M Singhvi, who appeared for the Congress leader, “We have read the comments… Tells us…

How do you get to know that 2000 square kilometres of Indian territory have been occupied by the Chinese? Were you there? Do you have any credible material? Why do you make these statements without having any…?” “If you are a true Indian, you would not say all these things,” Justice Dutta said. Singhvi said the comments were in “public interest”, and added, “It is also possible that a true Indian will say look, our 20 Indian soldiers were beaten up and killed. This is also a matter of concern.”