A court postponed the defamation case hearing against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to March 23 after the complainant sought verification of submitted audio-video evidence. The MP-MLA court allowed a request to match the clips with Gandhi’s voice next hearing.
SULTANPUR: A court postponed the hearing in a defamation case against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi until March 23 after the complainant requested verification of the audio and video material submitted in the matter.
Advocate Santosh Kumar Pandey, representing BJP leader and complainant Vijay Mishra, said the matter is listed before the MP/MLA court. He added that his client filed an application asking the court to match the previously submitted audio and video with Gandhi’s voice.
Pandey said.
Judge Shubham Verma allowed the request and set March 23 as the next hearing date.
On February 20, Gandhi, the Raebareli MP, appeared in court and recorded his statement, asserting the case was driven by political vendetta. He also told the court that the audio and video evidence produced by the complainant was incorrect and said he would submit his own evidence.
In December 2023, the court issued a warrant against Gandhi for failing to appear. He later surrendered in February 2024 and was granted bail on two surety bonds of Rs 25,000 each.
The complaint was filed by BJP leader Vijay Mishra, who alleged that Rahul Gandhi made defamatory statements against Amit Shah during the Karnataka Assembly elections in 2018. Mishra claimed that Gandhi used remarks that damaged the reputation of the Union Home Minister, which led to the filing of the criminal defamation complaint.
During earlier proceedings on February 20, Rahul Gandhi recorded his statement before the court under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). This stage of the trial allows the accused to explain the circumstances appearing against them in the evidence presented during the trial. While recording his statement, Gandhi denied all allegations made against him and maintained that the complaint was politically motivated.
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Through his counsel, Gandhi stated that the accusations against him were incorrect and were made by twisting his words.
Earlier, addressing the court, he said,
“The allegations are baseless and unfounded. I have never used derogatory words against anyone, nor have I used such language with the intention of defaming anyone. A false complaint has been filed by distorting my statement.”
He further reiterated that the complaint had been filed with political intentions and was aimed at harming his reputation as well as the image of his political party.
He also told the court,
“The allegations have been made against me out of political malice with the aim of destroying my image and that of my party. I have never used derogatory words against anyone, nor have I used such language with the intention of defaming anyone.”
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