New Delhi: Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Friday appeared before the MP MLA’s court in Sultanpur and recorded his statement in connection with a 2018 criminal defamation case linked to his alleged remarks about Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
He then left the courtroom after attending the session.The next hearing in the case is scheduled for March 9. The case stems from statements allegedly made by Gandhi during the 2018 Karnataka Assembly election campaign. A complaint was filed on 4 August 2018 by Vijay Mishra, a BJP leader in Sultanpur, alleging that Gandhi made objectionable and defamatory statements against Amit Shah at an election rally in Bengaluru.
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According to the complaint, Rahul Gandhi said that while the BJP claims to believe in honest and clean politics, it is led by “the party president who is accused in a murder case”. At that time, Amit Shah was the national president of the Bharatiya Janata Party.The statements referred to the 2005 Sohrabuddin Shaikh fake encounter case. However, in 2014, a special CBI court in Mumbai removed Shah from the case when he was Gujarat’s home minister.
The complainant claimed that Gandhi’s statement was defamatory and damaged Shah’s reputation.The Sultanpur MP MLA’s court later took cognizance of the complaint. In December last year, the court issued a warrant against Gandhi after he failed to appear in person.On February 20, 2024, Gandhi appeared in court, surrendered, and was released on bail. His lawyer applied for bail, which was granted after submitting two sureties of Rs 25,000 each.
The court then set March 2 for the next session.In July 2024, Gandhi recorded his first statement before the court, in which he denied the accusations and described the case as politically motivated.After questioning the complainant and witnesses, the court in January 2026 ordered Gandhi to appear in person for questioning under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. This stage allows the accused to explain the evidence presented against him.His appearance on Friday was in compliance with this directive.The case is among the many defamation cases filed against the Congress leader over statements he made during political campaigns. Gandhi stressed that such cases are politically motivated, while Congress leaders said they trust the judiciary.Further action is expected in this matter as the court continues to examine the evidence and hear arguments from both sides.
