Rahul Gandhi defamation case: Hearing deferred to June 29

The matter could not be argued during the previous hearing as the records had not reached the court at that time.

Sultanpur: The hearing in the 2018 defamation case pending against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi regarding his remarks against Union Home Minister Amit Shah in an MP/MLA court here was adjourned on Wednesday due to the case records being requisitioned by an additional district judge’s court in connection with a related revision petition.

The MP/MLA court has now fixed June 29 as the next date of hearing in the matter.

Gandhi’s counsel, Kashi Prasad Shukla, said a revision petition has been filed before the court of Additional District Judge (ADJ) seeking forensic examination and comparison of Gandhi’s actual voice with the voice recorded on a compact disc submitted as evidence in the case.

He stated that the case records from the lower court have already been transferred to the ADJ court for hearing of the revision petition, scheduled for June 25.

The matter could not be argued during the previous hearing as the records had not reached the court at that time.

With the related revision petition pending adjudication, the MP/MLA court deferred the hearing in the main defamation case and listed it for June 29.

The case dates back to 2018 when local BJP leader and former chairman of the District Cooperative Bank Vijay Mishra filed a defamation complaint against Gandhi, alleging that during the Karnataka elections in 2018, the Congress leader made derogatory remarks against the then BJP president and current Union Home Minister Shah.

The trial has been underway for the past five years. In December 2023, a warrant was issued against Gandhi for non-appearance before the court. He surrendered in February 2024, following which a special magistrate granted him bail on two sureties of Rs 25,000 each.

On July 26, 2024, Gandhi recorded his statement before the court, claiming innocence and terming the case a political conspiracy. Thereafter, the court directed the complainant to produce evidence in the case.