The Sultanpur MP-MLA court adjourned Rahul Gandhi’s defamation case hearing to November 17 after a lawyer’s death halted proceedings. BJP’s Vijay Mishra filed the case over Gandhi’s 2018 remark calling Amit Shah an “accused” of murder.
The hearing in a defamation case against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was postponed on Thursday in the local MP-MLA court in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, due to the death of a lawyer.
Gandhi’s counsel, Kashi Prasad Shukla, informed that
“due to the death of a lawyer, no proceedings could be conducted in the court on Thursday. The next hearing will now be held on November 17.”
The case was filed by BJP member Vijay Mishra on August 4, 2018. He alleged that on May 8, 2018, during a press conference in Bengaluru held at the time of the Karnataka Assembly elections, Rahul Gandhi made defamatory remarks against the then BJP national president and current Union Home Minister Amit Shah. According to the complaint, Gandhi called Amit Shah an “accused” of murder.
However, nearly four years before Gandhi’s statement, a special CBI court in Mumbai had already acquitted Amit Shah in the 2005 fake encounter case.
This formed the basis of Vijay Mishra’s defamation plea, claiming that Gandhi’s statement was factually incorrect and intended to harm Shah’s reputation.
Over the years, the case has seen several developments. As Rahul Gandhi did not appear before the court for almost five years, a warrant was issued against him in December 2023.
Later, in February 2024, Gandhi surrendered before the court, following which the special judge granted him bail on two sureties of Rs 25,000 each.
On July 26, 2024, Rahul Gandhi appeared in court and recorded his statement. During this statement, he maintained his innocence and said that the case was a “political conspiracy.”
The court then instructed the complainant to bring in witnesses for evidence. Since then, witnesses have been appearing regularly in court, though so far only one witness has been cross-examined.
According to Gandhi’s lawyer, proceedings will now resume on November 17, when the remaining witnesses are expected to be examined.
The case continues to attract attention due to its political significance, given that it involves senior leaders from both the Congress and the BJP.
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