Rahul Gandhi acquitted in Amit Shah defamation case
What's the story
A special MP/MLA court in Sultanpur has acquitted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a criminal defamation case. The case was filed by local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vijay Mishra on August 4, 2018. Mishra had alleged that Gandhi made objectionable remarks against then-BJP president Amit Shah during a rally in Bengaluru ahead of the Karnataka assembly elections.
Legal journey
Mishra's complaint centered on Gandhi's alleged statement
The case was heard by Additional Civil Judge Shubham Verma, who had initially scheduled the verdict for October 13. However, it was later postponed to October 26.
Mishra's complaint centered on Gandhi's alleged statement that the BJP had a party president who was an "accused" in a murder case.
The remark referred to Shah, who had been discharged in a 2005 fake encounter case.
Case background
Mishra filed complaint after learning about Gandhi's remarks
Mishra, a former chairman of the district cooperative bank and then BJP district vice-president, filed the complaint after learning about Gandhi's remarks through television news channels and social media.
He argued that the comments hurt him as a party worker.
Mishra had also sought a comparison of Gandhi's voice sample during proceedings, but this application was rejected by the trial court and later by higher courts.
Sentence possibility
Verdict comes after Gandhi appeared before court in 2023
Santosh Kumar Pandey, Mishra's counsel, had said that if evidence was found against Gandhi, he could face a maximum of two years in jail.
However, the special MP/MLA court dismissed the case on Monday.
During the proceedings, Gandhi had disputed the allegations against him, maintaining that the remarks had been presented out of context.
The complainant, on the other hand, maintained that the remarks were defamatory.
The verdict comes after Gandhi appeared before the court in 2023 and secured bail.