Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has been acquitted in a criminal defamation case concerning remarks he made about then-BJP president and current Union Home Minister Amit Shah in 2018. The Special MP-MLA Court in Sultanpur held that Gandhi’s remarks were not defamatory and pronounced him not guilty.
Gandhi appeared in person before the court for the judgment. Senior Advocate RS Cheema represented him along with advocates Kashi Shukla, Tarannum Cheema, Prasanna S and Akash Singh.
The case was filed by Vijay Mishra, who was the BJP’s district vice president at the time. Mishra invoked Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code over Gandhi’s comments at a rally in Bengaluru held ahead of the 2018 Karnataka Assembly elections.
Mishra had said on November 28, 2023, that he felt hurt after hearing the remarks and decided to pursue the matter through his lawyer. He said the legal proceedings continued for almost five years.
Gandhi appeared before the court in 2023 and was granted bail. The court had initially scheduled the verdict for October 13 before moving the pronouncement to October 26.
Before the judgment, Uttar Pradesh Congress president Aradhana Mishra ‘Mona’ said the party had complete faith in the judiciary and that Gandhi was travelling to Sultanpur specifically in connection with the case.