Supreme Court stays three criminal defamation cases against Swamy

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday stayed three criminal defamation cases against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy for commenting on Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on the micro-blogging site Twitter.

Swamy had sought the quashing of six criminal defamation complaints lodged against him for allegedly making comments against the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister. Earlier, a Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Deepak Misra had stayed the proceedings against Swamy.

Swamy had challenged the constitutional validity of Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code (relating to criminal defamation), contending that these provisions violated the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution.