Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Tuesday dismissed a petition by Congress politician Rahul Gandhi that challenged summons issued to him by a magistrate on a defamation complaint over his alleged 2018 statements against PM Narendra Modi related to the Rafale fighter aircraft deal.
“In absence of any manifest illegality, perversity in the impugned order, it is not a fit case for interference in exercise of inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Considering overall facts and circumstances, this court finds no infirmity in the impugned order,’’ said Justice Nitin Borkar. He said only an aggrieved person could file it.
Justice Borkar said: “Therefore, at this threshold, it cannot be said that the alleged defamatory imputation is incapable of extending to those clearly identified with the party and its leadership, including its office-bearers.
In the order, Justice Borkar said: “On prima facie reading of the defamatory statement, inter alia, describes the Prime Minister, who is also the prominent face of the said political party, as having engaged in the acts of theft while being the Commander of Thieves. “, said the high court. Whether the imputations were confined to the PM alone, or whether and to what extent they cast the shadow upon BJP members and functionaries “is a matter requiring an appreciation of evidence and context…a determination that must await trial rather than be conclusively answered by this court…