Sultanpur: A special MP/MLA court in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, on Monday dismissed a 2018 defamation complaint against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over alleged objectionable remarks about Amit Shah, who was then the president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Gandhi travelled from Delhi to attend the court proceedings in Sultanpur for the pronouncement of the verdict.
The case stemmed from remarks Gandhi allegedly made during a press conference in Bengaluru, Karnataka, in May 2018. The complaint alleged that he had referred to Shah as an accused in a murder case.
The complaint was filed by Vijay Mishra, who was then a BJP district vice-president and chairman of the local District Co-operative Bank. Gandhi was summoned by the MP/MLA court on 16 December 2023 in connection with the case.
Before the verdict, Mishra told ANI that he was hopeful of receiving justice.
“We are hopeful that we will receive justice, given the way they behaved toward our BJP’s national president at that time (Amit Shah). This legal case has been ongoing since 2018, spanning all the way to 2026. Today is the date for the verdict, and given how the case has been contested by our legal counsel, we are optimistic that the judgment will be in our favour,” Mishra said.
Mishra’s counsel, advocate Kashi Prasad Shukla, said the complaint was filed after Gandhi allegedly made objectionable remarks about Shah during a press conference in Bengaluru in May 2018.
Earlier, advocate Pandey had said that Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) provides for a sentence of up to two years in prison and a fine if a person is found guilty of defamation.
Section 437A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) requires an accused to execute bail bonds with sureties to ensure their appearance before a higher court if an appeal is filed against the trial court’s verdict.
