New Delhi: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi arrives at the Parliament House complex during the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha, in New Delhi, Tuesday, June 25, 2024. (Photo: PTI)
An MP-MLA court in Uttar Pradesh has summoned Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to appear before it on July 2 in connection with a defamation case related to his remarks about Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
The defamation case, initially scheduled for a hearing on June 18 was postponed to June 26 due to the judge’s leave. On Wednesday, the court ordered the Congress leader to personally appear for proceedings on July 2.
Rahul Gandhi 2018 defamation case background The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vijay Mishra filed the complaint on August 4, 2018, citing Gandhi’s alleged objectionable comments during a press conference in Bengaluru. Gandhi had criticised the BJP for claiming to uphold honest and clean politics while having a party president who was ‘accused’ in a murder case.
At the time of Gandhi’s comments, Amit Shah was serving as the BJP president.
A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Mumbai had discharged Shah in 2014 from a 2005 fake encounter case when he was the minister of state for home in Gujarat.
Defamation case court proceedings so far During the last court session, advocate Santosh Kumar Pandey representing the petitioner noted that an individual named Ram Pratap had requested to be made a party to the case. However, Pandey opposed the plea arguing that Pratap was neither victim nor had any relevance to the matter. Gandhi’s lawyer, Kashi Prasad Shukla, also opposed the petition. The court subsequently dismissed Pratap’s request and mandated Gandhi’s personal appearance at the next hearing.
The case has been a point of contention since its inception. On February 20 this year, Gandhi paused his ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ in Amethi to appear in court, where he was granted bail.
The upcoming hearing on July 2 is expected to shed more light on the legal battle surrounding Gandhi’s remarks and the subsequent defamation charges.
Other defamation charges against Rahul Gandhi Keshav Prasad, a BJP MLC and general secretary had also filed a defamation case against several entities including the Congress state unit, its president D K Shivakumar, former Opposition leader Siddaramaiah, and Rahul Gandhi.
The Karnataka BJP unit alleged that Congress orchestrated a smear campaign, known as ‘PayCM’, ahead of the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections. The campaign included the release of a ‘rate card’ listing alleged bribes required for securing government positions. Gandhi’s retweeting of these messages during the election buildup has been cited as evidence in the case.
The complaint accuses the Congress of engaging in propaganda by publishing full-page advertisements claiming that the previous BJP government in the state charged a 40 per cent commission for government projects. The BJP contends that Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar made false allegations to mislead the public, calling for action under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code, which pertains to defamation.
In an earlier hearing, the court granted bail to Rahul Gandhi. The matter is scheduled for a further hearing on July 30.
(With agency inputs)
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