Defamation Case: Sultanpur Court Grants Relief to Rahul Gandhi

A special MP/MLA court in Sultanpur (Uttar Pradesh) granted bail to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday in a defamation case filed by a BJP leader for his remarks against Union Home Minister Amit Shah in 2018.

Gandhi, who missed the last hearing in the special MP-MLA court on January 18 due to his engagement with his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, appeared in court today.

Judge Yogesh Yadav granted him bail after he filled bail bonds, as stated by his counsel Kashi Prasad Shukla to reporters.

The case was filed by BJP leader Vijay Mishra on August 4, 2018, over Gandhi’s alleged objectionable comments against Shah during a press conference in Bengaluru on May 8, 2018, amidst the Karnataka elections.

Mishra referred to Gandhi’s remark where he stated that the BJP claims to believe in honest and clean politics but has a party president who is an “accused” in a murder case. It’s noteworthy that Shah was BJP president when Gandhi made the remark.

Approximately four years prior to Gandhi’s statement, a special CBI court in Mumbai discharged Shah in a 2005 fake encounter case during his tenure as a minister of state for home in Gujarat. Mishra expressed, “The BJP is the biggest party of the country. Calling its (then) president a murderer is unjustifiable,” during statements to reporters on Tuesday.

He also pointed out that Gandhi had skipped several summonses.