Arguments were heard on Wednesday in a defamation case involving Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, with a local MP-MLA court reserving its order for May 2, officials said.
The hearing before the MP-MLA’s court focused on the application filed under Section 311 (which empowers the court to summon or summon any witness at any stage of the trial if it feels that his evidence is necessary for a fair decision) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), with lawyers for both sides presenting their arguments.
Kashi Prasad Shukla, Gandhi’s lawyer, said that the court heard arguments on the petition submitted by the complainant’s lawyer Santosh Kumar Pandey and set May 2 to pronounce its order.
The previous hearing in this case was held on April 17.
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Earlier, during the March 28 hearing, the complainant had sought examination of Gandhi’s voice sample under Section 311 read with Section 91 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
The request requested that Gandhi’s voice sample be matched to a CD that had already been submitted to the forensic laboratory. Gandhi’s lawyers had opposed this request.
The defamation case was filed in October 2018 by local BJP politician Vijay Mishra. Gandhi had surrendered before the court on February 20, 2024, after which he was released on bail with two sureties worth $25,000 each.
He appeared before the court on July 26, 2024. He recorded his statements and insisted on his innocence, describing the case as a political conspiracy. After his statement, the court ordered the complainant to present evidence, after which the witnesses were interrogated.
Earlier, Gandhi had also recorded his statement under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, following which the court asked him to submit his defense and evidence. However, no such evidence was presented on his behalf, according to court proceedings.
