Chandigarh, Aug. 7 -- The Punjab and Haryana high court has stayed criminal defamation case proceedings against Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge underway before a Sangrur court.

On June 8, the Sangrur court had issued orders summoning Kharge on July 28, seeking his presence for trial. But he failed to appear, following which bailable warrants were issued against him for September 19.

The case stems from a complaint filed by one Bhavya Bhardwaj, a resident of Sangrur, alleging that the Congress chief made defamatory comments about Bajrang Dal during the Karnataka assembly election campaign in 2023.

It was alleged that while launching the Congress manifesto, Kharge sought to ban the Bajrang Dal, and compared it to outlawed terrorist...