The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the criminal proceedings against Karnataka MLC and Bharatiya Janata Party leader CT Ravi in a case related to the allegedly derogatory remarks he made about Congress minister Laxmi Hebbalkar in the state Assembly, Live Law reported.

A bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Rajesh Bindal was hearing a petition against a May 2 order of the Karnataka High Court, which refused to quash the criminal case against the BJP leader.

On December 19, Hebbalkar, the state women and child development minister, accused Ravi of repeatedly calling Congress leader Rahul Gandhi a “drug addict” amid ruckus in the Karnataka Assembly.

In response, Hebbalkar called Ravi a “murderer”, referring to his alleged involvement in a 2019 road rage incident. This led the BJP leader to use an alleged sexually derogatory slur against her, escalating the chaos on the floor of the House.

Hebbalkar filed the first information report against Ravi. He was booked under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to sexual harassment and outraging the modesty of a woman through words, gestures or actions.

On Monday, the Supreme Court issued notice in the matter and stayed the proceedings in the trial court, Live Law reported.

In his petition, Ravi said that his statements were made during the parliamentary proceedings in the Legislative Council in December and was hence protected under the immunity granted to MPs during their conduct in the House, according to Live Law.

The petition added that provisions under the Civil Procedure Code also barred the arrest of members during parliamentary sessions and for up to 40 days after the sessions, PTI reported.

Ravi was arrested in Belagavi on the evening of December 19 and granted bail two days later.

In January, the High Court also stayed any coercive action against Ravi until it decided on his plea to quash the complaint altogether, Bar and Bench reported.