Supreme Court stays trial in defamation case against Rahul Gandhi over 2018 remarks

The Supreme Court on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, stayed the trial in a criminal defamation case against Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, which is pending before a Mumbai magistrate’s court. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Aparesh Kumar Singh issued notice on his petition, returnable in four weeks. “In the meantime, further proceedings before the trial court shall remain stayed,” the order said, as quoted by LiveLaw. The order text itself was not available to us; this report relies on Bar & Bench, Hindustan Times and LiveLaw.

What the case is about

The case is a private complaint filed by Mahesh Shrishrimal, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), before the Girgaon Metropolitan Magistrate. It concerns remarks Mr Gandhi made in September 2018 about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, including the phrase “commander-in-thief”, in the context of the Rafale fighter jet deal, Bar & Bench reported. Hindustan Times reported that the complaint refers to a rally in Rajasthan and to a video that Mr Gandhi commented on from his personal account on X on 24 September 2018, and that it seeks action under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code, the criminal defamation provision.

The magistrate summoned Mr Gandhi in 2019. After receiving the summons in 2021, he went to the Bombay High Court, which on 8 September rejected his petition to quash the proceedings. Justice N R Borkar held that, on a prima facie reading, describing the Prime Minister, who is a BJP member, as a “commander in thief” could not be said to be limited to the party’s senior leadership, and that whether the imputation had substance and what effect it had on party members would have to be considered at trial, according to Hindustan Times and LiveLaw. The High Court referred to a Delhi High Court judgment in a case involving Shashi Tharoor, which held that a registered political party is an identifiable body, LiveLaw reported.

In the Supreme Court

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi appeared for Mr Gandhi. The bench issued notice to the Maharashtra government and the complainant, Hindustan Times reported. The stay is an interim order. It does not rule on whether the remarks are defamatory or on the High Court’s reasoning, and the Supreme Court has not yet heard the State or the complainant.

We did not find a statement from the complainant or the BJP on the stay by the time of publication.

What happens next

The petition is to be listed after four weeks, once the Maharashtra government and the complainant have been given the opportunity to respond. Until then the Mumbai trial court cannot proceed.