New Delhi/IBNS: In a relief for the Leader of Opposition, the Supreme Court on Monday stayed the criminal proceedings against Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case filed against him over his remarks against union home minister Amit Shah and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), media reports said.

A bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta stayed the proceedings after hearing Rahul's petition challenging the Jharkhand High Court's order.

The Jharkhand High Court had dismissed Rahul's plea seeking to quash the defamation case which was filed against him by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker Navin Jha in 2018.

The Congress MP's lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi has argued that only the aggrieved person can file a criminal defamation.

The high court has given four weeks' time to Jha and the Jharkhand government to respond to Singhvi's argument.

In the meantime, no proceedings can be taken against the Congress leader until further orders, said the court.

Jha had alleged Rahul called Shah "murder accused" and the BJP "liars" and being "drunk in power".