New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Tuesday recorded that the defamation dispute between Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Congress Rajya Sabha MP and senior advocate Vivek Tankha has been amicably settled. A bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and N.K. Singh was hearing a special leave petition (SLP) filed by former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Chouhan, former Minister Bhupendra Singh Yadav, and ex-State BJP President V.D. Sharma seeking quashing of the criminal defamation proceedings initiated on Tankha’s complaint. 

Appearing for the petitioners, senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, told the apex court that the parties had resolved their differences after meeting in Parliament.  “We are happy to inform the court that my client and Mr Tankha met in Parliament and settled the matter. Mr Tankha will withdraw his civil suit for defamation as well as the criminal complaint,” Jethmalani submitted. Taking note of the submission, the Justice Sundresh-led Bench orally observed that politicians are expected to have a higher degree of tolerance. “See, they are parliamentarians, they are more thick-skinned! The language of politicians is different, and being overly sensitive should be avoided as it is part of their job,” the apex court remarked. 

Disposing of the SLP, the apex court, in its order, said: “We have been informed that the matter has been amicably resolved. We are expressing our appreciation. All pending disputes between the parties stand terminated, including both the criminal complaint and the defamation case.” On November 11, 2024, the Supreme Court granted interim relief to the trio of BJP leaders, directing that they need not be subjected to bailable warrants, subject to their effective participation before the trial court through counsel. 

The petitioners had approached the Supreme Court after the Madhya Pradesh High Court had refused to quash the trial court’s order taking cognisance of the defamation complaint filed by Tankha.  Tankha accused the three senior BJP leaders of making a 'baseless' allegation against him in connection with a case related to 27 per cent reservation for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in Madhya Pradesh. During the panchayat elections in the state in 2022, the BJP and Congress indulged in a race for political gain by pushing for 27 per cent reservation to OBCs.