Lawyers’ Strike in UP Delays Hearing in Rahul Gandhi Defamation Case

A strike by lawyers at an MP-MLA court in Sultanpur (Uttar Pradesh) on Wednesday resulted in the postponement of a hearing in a 2018 defamation case against Rahul Gandhi, wherein he was accused of making objectionable remarks against Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The case, slated for Wednesday’s hearing, was deferred to March 22 due to the lawyers’ strike, as confirmed by Santosh Pandey, counsel for the complainant.

In August 2018, BJP leader Vijay Mishra filed a complaint in the MP-MLA court against Gandhi, alleging defamatory remarks against Shah.

Gandhi had appeared in the Special MP-MLA court on February 20 and was granted bail. On the subsequent hearing on March 2, his lawyer Kashi Prasad Shukla requested more time, citing Gandhi’s engagement in the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

According to the complainant, Gandhi purportedly made the remarks at a press conference in Bengaluru in May 2018 during the Karnataka elections, when Shah was serving as BJP president.

Vijay Mishra, a resident of Hanumanganj in Kotwali Dehat Police Station in Sultanpur, filed the complaint, represented by Advocate Santosh Pandey. The court issued a warrant on December 16, 2023, in this matter.