Bengaluru, July 12 -- The Karnataka high court on Friday stayed all proceedings pending before a trial court in a criminal defamation case filed against chief minister Siddaramaiah by the state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Justice SR Krishna Kumar stayed proceedings against Siddaramaiah, after noting that several other Congress leaders, including deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, named in the same case have already been granted relief by the high court.

The defamation case, filed by BJP leader Keshav Prasad, pertains to advertisements and campaign slogans used by the Congress party ahead of the 2023 Karnataka assembly elections. In the advertisements, the Congress ac...