Delhi Court Issues Bailable Warrant Against Shashi Tharoor In Defamation Case

The Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court on Tuesday issued bailable warrant against Congress MP Shashi Tharoor after he did not appear in a defamation case. The case was filed by BJP leader Rajeev Babbar over Tharoor's alleged 'scorpion on Shivling' remark on PM Modi.

Earlier, a court reserved its order on summoning Congress leader Shashi Tharoor over his alleged 'scorpion' remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Additional chief metropolitan magistrate Samar Vishal said the court would pass the order on April 27 on whether to summon the Congress MP as the accused in the plea.

The court was hearing a criminal defamation complaint filed against Tharoor by Delhi BJP leader Rajeev Babbar, who has said his religious sentiments were hurt by the Congress leader's statement.

"I am a devotee of Lord Shiva.... However, the accused (Tharoor) completely disregarded the sentiments of crores of Shiva devotees, made the statement which hurt the sentiments of all Lord Shiva devotees, both in India and outside the country," the complaint says.

"The complainant's religious sentiments were hurt and the accused deliberately did this malicious act, intending to outrage the religious feelings of Lord Shiva devotees by insulting their religious belief," it adds.

The complaint also describes Tharoor's statement as an "intolerable abuse" and "absolute vilification" of the faith of millions of people. The complaint was filed under sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), relating to defamation.