LUCKNOW: A session court in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh has dismissed the defamation case against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his remarks against Union Home Minister Amit Shah, acquitting him in the matter and bringing the legal proceedings to an end.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi arrived in Uttar Pradesh on Monday to appear before a special MP-MLA court in Sultanpur, which is set to pronounce its verdict in a defamation case against him, PTI reported.
Gandhi landed at Lucknow's Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport, where hundreds of Congress workers and local party leaders gathered to welcome the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Raebareli MP, before he left for Sultanpur. He did not speak to reporters.
Uttar Pradesh Congress president Aradhana Mishra 'Mona' told PTI Videos: "We have complete faith in the judiciary. Rahul Gandhi ji is going to Sultanpur for that case only." Security arrangements have been strengthened in Sultanpur, particularly around the court complex, police officials said.
The case dates back to a rally Gandhi addressed in Bengaluru on May 8, 2018, during campaigning for the Karnataka Assembly elections. Vijay Mishra, then a BJP district vice-president and former chairman of a district cooperative bank in Sultanpur, alleged that Gandhi called then BJP national president Amit Shah a "murderer" at the rally.
"I was the vice president of BJP when this incident happened... I felt very pained because I am a long-time worker of the party. I filed a complaint regarding this through my lawyer, and this continued for almost 5 years," Mishra told ANI. He filed the defamation complaint before the MP-MLA court in Sultanpur on August 4, 2018.
The court summoned Gandhi to face trial on November 27, 2023. He appeared before the court on February 20, 2024, and was granted bail. Hearings concluded this month, with the court fixing October 26 for pronouncing its verdict, defence counsel Kashi Prasad Shukla said.
Shukla said Gandhi would be present in court at 12 pm on Monday for the judgment, after which compliance with Section 437A of the CrPC -- the provision requiring an accused to furnish bail bonds for a possible appeal -- would be carried out before Gandhi proceeds to his next engagement. The CrPC provision now corresponds to Section 481 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita.
Complainant's counsel Santosh Kumar Pandey said statements of three witnesses were recorded during the trial, and that Gandhi could face up to two years in prison if the court finds sufficient evidence against him.