SC stays criminal proceedings against Congress leader Salman Khurshid in trespass case

New Delhi, Jan 2 (PTI) The Supreme Court stayed on Monday the criminal proceedings against senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid for allegedly trespassing into the office of the Delhi Public School Society in the national capital.

A bench of Justices BR Gavai and Vikram Nath while agreeing to hear the plea of Khurshid against the Delhi High Court order of November 27, 2019 said he is a responsible and reputed person.

“Leave granted. It is clarified that the stay of the proceedings is only in the case pertaining to the present petition,” the bench said in the order.

At the outset, senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for Khurshid, said his client is open to mediation as it will be an ideal situation if any solution is found through through this process.

Khurshid has challenged various orders of the Delhi High Court, which had dismissed his plea for quashing the criminal proceedings in the case lodged at Amar Colony police station against him and others for allegedly entering the office of the society unauthorised.

The incident pertains to the dispute related to the leadership of the society.

The top court had on December 13, 2019 issued notice on the plea of Khurshid against the high court’s order and asked the parties to explore the option of mediation. It had also stayed further proceedings in the case till then.

In 2018, the Delhi High Court had allowed the petition of the Congress leader seeking the quashing of the January 8, 2018 order of the trial court summoning him as an accused for allegedly trespassing into an office of the Delhi Public School Society in south Delhi.

According to police, the DPS Society had alleged that on March 30, 2015, Khurshid, along with Sharda Nayak, trespassed into the office of the society and the latter forcibly occupied the office of the chairperson.

“They took control of the premises of the society” and it was in the presence of Khurshid that Nayak announced herself as the society’s chairperson, the DPS Society had alleged, adding the former Union minister was part of a “well-planned conspiracy to illegally occupy and take over the premises of the society”.

Following the incident, an FIR was lodged.