Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi was acquitted on Monday in a case filed against him for making a defamatory remark against Union Home Minister Amit Shah when he was the BJP national president in 2018.
‘There is insufficient evidence in the case. Moreover, Rahul’s statement was defamatory or’ the special court hearing cases against MPs and MLAs in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, said while issuing this order.
Following this verdict, Congress party members gathered in the court premises, chanted “Truth will prevail,” and celebrated by distributing sweets and beating drums.
Background of the case: During the 2018 Karnataka Assembly election, Rahul Gandhi, who was campaigning in Bengaluru, indirectly referred to Amit Shah and said, “A party that speaks about honesty and morality (the BJP) has a person accused in a murder case as its national president.” He made that remark pointing to the fact that Amit Shah had been acquitted by a CBI court in 2014 in the 2005 Sohrabuddin encounter case.
In response to Rahul’s remarks, Vijay Mishra, the BJP leader from Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh and former chairman of the district cooperative bank, filed a defamation case on August 4, 2018, in the special court that hears cases against MPs and MLAs there.
As the case continued, after Rahul Gandhi appeared in person before the court in 2023, the court granted him bail.
The court had announced that a verdict in this case would be delivered on the 13th, but later the date of the verdict was postponed to October 16.
Accordingly, it came up for hearing on Monday before Special Court Judge Subham Varma. Following the summons, Rahul Gandhi appeared in person before the court. At that time, the judge delivered a verdict fully acquitting Rahul Gandhi in the defamation case.
Regarding this verdict, the petitioner Vijay Mishra’s lawyer, Pandey, told reporters, “There is not enough evidence in this case. Moreover, the remark made by Rahul Gandhi is not defamatory. In addition, the judge has acquitted Rahul Gandhi, noting that in this case the petitioner Vijay Mishra is not the aggrieved person. We respect the court’s verdict. At the same time, once we receive a copy of the verdict, after reading it in full, we will appeal against this judgment,” he said.
Rahul’s lawyers said, “This case was filed for political reasons, not on merit. Therefore, we were certain that this case would be decided in our favor. Accordingly, Rahul Gandhi has been fully acquitted in the case,” they said.
Earlier, Rahul Gandhi arrived at the international airport in Lucknow on Monday morning to appear in person before the court for the hearing of this case. A large number of Congress workers and local party leaders had gathered at the airport to welcome him.
After that, when Rahul Gandhi went to the Sultanpur court, a large convoy of vehicles followed him. Some of these vehicles collided with one another on the Purvanchal Expressway and met with an accident. However, police said that no one suffered any major injuries. In view of Rahul Gandhi’s visit, tight police security had been deployed at the Sultanpur court.
Party run by criminals: Following this verdict, Congress General Secretary K.C. Venugopal criticized the BJP as a “party run by criminals.”
“The court has made it clear that Rahul’s remark about Amit Shah was not defamatory. That is the truth. A party run by criminals is bringing people who have committed the most heinous crimes to the highest positions of power. Our struggle to defeat these criminals is noble. We will win by fighting in the Gandhian way,” K.C. Venugopal said in his X post.