Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and MP from Raebareli, appeared before the court in person for the pronouncement of the verdict.
LUCKNOW: A special MP/MLA court in Sultanpur on Monday acquitted Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in a 2018 criminal defamation case over his alleged objectionable remarks against Amit Shah, who was the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president at the time. The Congress leader subsequently appeared before the court and secured bail in February 2024. Earlier reporting noted: In 2018,the then BJP District Vice President, Vijay Mishra, had filed a criminal defamation caseagainst Gandhi over his remarksat a rally in Bengaluru. Earlier reporting noted: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, has been acquitted in a defamation case over his remarks against then-BJP president and currrent Union Home Minister Amit Shah at a rally in 2018. Earlier reporting noted: In 2018, the then BJP District Vice President, Vijay Mishra, had filed a criminal defamation case under Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against Gandhi over his remarks at a rally in Bengaluru ahead of the 2018 Karnataka Assembly elections.
As for the specific reasoning or the grounds upon which the case was dismissed, we cannot provide full details until we have the complete judgment,” said Kashi Prasad Shukla, the advocate representing Rahul Gandhi. “Rahul Gandhi has been acquitted in this case. The court determined that the complainant, Vijay Mishra did not qualify as an aggrieved person. Since we have not yet been able to review the full text of the judgment, we are currently expressing our happiness over the fact that Rahul Gandhi has been acquitted. A court in Uttar Pradesh’s Sultanpur pronounced Gandhi ‘not guilty’ stating that his remarks were not defamatory.