Congress former president and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi got relief from Jharkhand High Court on Tuesday, with the HC staying the arrest warrant issued against him. The court also ordered him to appear in the lower court before August 6. The warrant had been issued by the MP-MLA court in Chaibasa in connection with a criminal defamation case filed by a BJP leader. Hearing the Rahul Gandhi case, Justice Anil Kumar Chaudhary has directed him to appear in person on August 6.
The case pertains to remarks made by Rahul Gandhi during a Congress convention in March, 2018 where he had made defamatory remarks against leaders of BJP.
The case is related to Rahul Gandhi’s speech against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders using “defamatory” language against them in March 2018. BJP leader Pratap Kumar had filed a defamation case against Gandhi in the Chaibasa court on July 9, 2018. Later the case was transferred to the Special MP-MLA Court in Ranchi in February 2020 on the orders of the Jharkhand High Court. It was forwarded to the MP-MLA Special Court in Chaibasa as per another order of the High Court.
Despite the issuance of a summons, Gandhi failed to appear before the court on previous dates. This led to the court issuing a bailable warrant, and later, due to continued absence, a non-bailable warrant was issued. The court had ordered his physical presence on June 26.
The Congress leader had sought exemption from personal appearance through a petition, which was turned down by the lower court. Challenging this decision, his legal team approached the Jharkhand High Court with a plea to quash the order. Advocates, representing Rahul Gandhi, informed the High Court that the Congress leader was unable to appear on June 26 and requested that he be allowed to appear on another date.