Bemgaluru, 08 Oct (H.S.):

A special sessions court has stayed proceedings in a criminal defamation case against Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge and Congress leader Mohammed Haris Nalapad over allegedly defamatory remarks about the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Judge K.B. Shivaprasad, presiding over the court handling criminal cases against sitting and former MPs and MLAs, granted the interim stay until October 30, the next hearing date.

The leaders challenged a June 27 order of Bengaluru’s 42nd Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, which took cognisance of the complaint and initiated proceedings against them.

The private complaint was filed by Bengaluru resident Tejas A., who claimed to be an RSS member. It concerns alleged statements targeting the organisation and its members.

Lawyers representing the Congress leaders questioned whether Tejas had the legal standing to bring the complaint. They argued that he had failed to produce adequate documents establishing his RSS membership.

They also submitted that Tejas had given inconsistent accounts of his association with the organisation. Photographs submitted by him did not match the accompanying certificate or establish his affiliation, the defence contended.

Kharge had argued before the magistrate that the RSS was not a registered organisation and did not maintain a registered membership system. The magistrate rejected that contention while allowing the case to proceed.

The defence further argued that a criminal defamation complaint must come from an aggrieved person, and that the complainant’s eligibility should be examined before proceedings begin.

Counsel also questioned the combination of separate allegations in one complaint and alleged that the magistrate had not adequately explained the reasons for taking cognisance.

The case invokes Section 356 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with defamation. The sessions court will examine the challenge to the magistrate’s order when the matter returns for hearing on October 30.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman