‘Complainant Did Not Qualify As An Aggrieved Person’
Lucknow: An MP/MLA court in Sultanpur acquitted Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Monday in a defamation case over his alleged derogatory remarks against Union home minister Amit Shah in 2018. Rahul had appeared before the court in 2023 and secured bail. The court had earlier fixed Oct 13 for pronouncing its verdict, which was later rescheduled for Oct 26.
Congress workers celebrated the verdict outside the court complex with beating of drums and distributing sweets among themselves and chanting “Satyamev Jayate” as Rahul emerged from the premises after his acquittal. His counsel Kashi Prasad Shukla told reporters: “The court determined that the complainant, Vijay Mishra, did not qualify as an aggrieved person. Mishra’s counsel Santosh Pandey said the court had accepted the CD he had submitted as evidence. I will take copy of it scrutinise it and file it in the appellate court after consulting my client,” Pandey told reporters.
He added that he intended to challenge the matter. “The court held that the statement was not defamatory and that my client, Vijay Mishra ji, is not the aggrieved person. So, I respect the court’s order.
Rahul, the leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha, arrived in Lucknow on Monday morning and travelled by road to Sultanpur for the hearing.