Rahul Gandhi Acquitted in Defamation Case Linked to Amit Shah Remarks

Court Ruling in Defamation Case

Sultanpur (Uttar Pradesh). A special MP/MLA court in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, has cleared Congress MP Rahul Gandhi of all charges in a criminal defamation case related to controversial remarks made against Union Home Minister Amit Shah in 2018. Rahul Gandhi was present in court during the ruling.

The final decision was delivered by Additional Civil Judge Shubham Verma, and defense attorney Kashi Prasad Shukla confirmed Rahul Gandhi's acquittal.

Earlier on Monday morning, Rahul Gandhi arrived in Lucknow and traveled to the Sultanpur court under tight security. The case dates back to May 8, 2018, when Rahul Gandhi allegedly made offensive comments about Amit Shah during a rally in Bengaluru amid the Karnataka Assembly elections.

Following these remarks, Vijay Mishra, then the district vice president of the BJP and former president of the Sultanpur District Cooperative Bank, filed a defamation suit on August 4, 2018.

The legal proceedings were lengthy, with the court issuing a summons to Rahul Gandhi on November 27, 2023. He subsequently surrendered to the court on February 20, 2024, to secure bail. During the hearings, statements from three witnesses, including the complainant Vijay Mishra, Anil Mishra, and Ramchandra Dubey, were recorded.

During the trial, a request was made to match a sample of Rahul Gandhi's voice with the recording from the Bengaluru rally, but the lower court rejected this request. Both the session court and the Allahabad High Court upheld the lower court's decision. The arguments from both sides concluded on October 12, and the court reserved its judgment, setting the date for October 26. Following the verdict, the Uttar Pradesh Congress welcomed the decision, stating that justice had prevailed and the truth had emerged.