New Delhi (Rajeev Sharma): A court in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, on Monday acquitted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a criminal defamation case linked to remarks he allegedly made about Amit Shah during the 2018 Karnataka Assembly election campaign.
The MP/MLA court ruled in Gandhi’s favour on October 26, bringing an end to the proceedings in the case, which dates back more than eight years.
The verdict had initially been scheduled for October 13 by Additional Civil Judge Shubham Verma. The date was subsequently revised, with the court delivering its decision on Monday.
Case stemmed from 2018 election rally
The complaint concerned remarks allegedly made by Gandhi about Shah, who was serving as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president at the time. The comments were reportedly delivered during a rally in Bengaluru ahead of the Karnataka Assembly elections in 2018.
BJP leader Vijay Mishra, a former chairman of the District Cooperative Bank in Sultanpur, lodged the defamation complaint against Gandhi on August 4, 2018.
Gandhi appeared before the court in 2023 and was granted bail as the legal proceedings continued.
The court’s acquittal means Gandhi has been found not guilty in this particular defamation case. The matter had remained before the Sultanpur court since the complaint was filed.
