A Bengaluru special court has stayed further proceedings in a criminal defamation case against Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge and Congress leader Mohammed Haris Nalapad over alleged defamatory remarks concerning the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Special Judge K.B. Shivaprasad passed the interim order while hearing revision petitions challenging the Magistrate’s decision to take cognisance of the complaint and issue summons to the two leaders.
The Court also issued notice to the complainant, A Tejas, and called for the records of the proceedings.
At the heart of the challenge is the question of whether Tejas, who claims to be an RSS member, had the legal standing to institute a criminal defamation complaint against Kharge and Nalapad.
The Special Court prima facie disagreed with the Magistrate’s approach that the complainant’s locus standi could be examined only during the course of trial. It observed that the authority of the complainant to institute proceedings is a fundamental requirement in a criminal defamation case and therefore warrants examination at the preliminary stage.
The case originated from a private complaint alleging that Kharge and Nalapad had made statements that damaged the reputation of the RSS and its members.
The Bengaluru Magistrate had, on June 27, taken cognisance of the alleged offence under Section 356 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and directed the accused to appear before the court.
During the revision proceedings, senior advocate Sandesh J. Chouta, appearing for Kharge, argued that the complainant had given inconsistent accounts regarding his association with the RSS and had not produced material establishing that he was a member of the organisation.
On that basis, it was contended that Tejas could not claim to be an “aggrieved person” competent to maintain a private criminal defamation complaint.
Chouta further submitted that an individual seeking to invoke criminal defamation law must demonstrate a specific and identifiable legal injury. In the absence of evidence establishing the complainant’s membership of the RSS and his connection to the alleged defamatory statements, the complaint was argued to be legally unsustainable.
Senior advocate Vikram Huilgol, representing Nalapad, relied on the statutory requirement concerning complaints by an aggrieved person. He argued that the Magistrate had failed to provide sufficient reasons for taking cognisance against his client.
The Special Court noted that the Magistrate had deferred consideration of the locus issue to the trial stage. It held that this approach required examination in the revision proceedings, particularly since the question went to the very authority to initiate the criminal action.
The Court also noted that the Magistrate had already issued summons and that evidence had begun to be recorded. Continuing with the proceedings during the pendency of the revision petitions, it observed, could defeat the very purpose of the challenge.
Accordingly, the Special Court stayed further trial proceedings and listed the matter for October 30.
The proceedings stem from allegations concerning statements and social media posts made by Kharge and Nalapad in 2025. The complainant had alleged that the remarks portrayed the RSS and its members in a derogatory manner and caused reputational harm.
The dispute has also previously reached the Karnataka High Court. In October, the High Court declined to entertain petitions filed by Kharge and Nalapad challenging the Magistrate’s cognisance order, holding that they had an equally efficacious remedy before the jurisdictional Sessions Court through a criminal revision petition.
The latest order therefore places the question of the maintainability of the defamation proceedings before the Sessions Court, where the accused have challenged the cognisance taken against them.
The proceedings against the two Congress leaders will now remain stayed pending further consideration of their revision petitions.
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