The Supreme Court has stayed the criminal defamation proceedings against Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who is accused of making a defamatory remark comparing Prime Minister Narendra Modi to 'a scorpion sitting on a Shivling'. This decision follows Tharoor's appeal against the Delhi High Court's ruling that refused to quash the defamation case filed by BJP leader Rajeev Babbar, who claimed the remark hurt religious sentiments. The Supreme Court has issued notices to the Delhi government and Babbar, with responses due within four weeks. Tharoor's counsel argued that the statement was originally from a 2012 article and was not defamatory then. The High Court had previously stated that the remarks were 'despicable and deplorable'.