Chennai,   A single bench of the Madras High Court on Friday stayed all further proceedings in a defamation case against Union minister and former Tamil Nadu state BJP chief L. Murugan.

The case was filed by the Murosoli Trust in January 2021 against Murugan, Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, for reportedly making some remarks related to the title of the trust property while he was the President of the Tamil Nadu unit of the BJP.

Justice A.D. Jagdish Chandra also ruled out the minister's public appearance before the special court for cases booked against MPs and MLAs.

It may be noted that the special court had taken cognisance of the complaint and had issued summons requiring his personal appearance. Murugan had filed a petition through his counsel B. Babu Manohar for an interim stay on the proceedings pending before the special court.