The Bombay High Court did not grant relief to Rahul Gandhi in the defamation case related to PM Modi. The court dismissed his petition seeking the cancellation of the summons issued by the magistrate’s court in 2019.
However, the court extended its order postponing the hearing on the defamation complaint in the lower court for six weeks. As a result, Rahul Gandhi will not have to appear before the magistrate during this period. His lawyer had sought time to file an appeal in the Supreme Court.
Iin 2018, in a meeting in Rajasthan, Rahul had called the PM the Commander-in-Thief on the Rafale aircraft deal.
In this case, the Magistrate Court had ordered initiation of legal proceedings against Rahul on the defamation complaint on August 28, 2019. Rahul had challenged this order.
Complainant says Rahul’s statement hurts BJP workers, courtroom live
- Complainant M.H. Shrishrimal stated that he is an active member of the BJP and that Modi is a prominent face of the party. He claims that Rahul’s statement hurt him and other BJP members. Based on this, he filed a defamation complaint.
- Rahul’s lawyers argued that the comments were directed at the Prime Minister, not the BJP. Therefore, the complainant had no right to file a defamation case.
- The High Court rejected this argument. It noted that the BJP has a specific group of members, and the Prime Minister is the party’s primary face. Therefore, the statement could have an impact on party members. However, the court said that whether the comment had any impact on the BJP members or not will be decided by the evidence and statements of witnesses in the trial.
- Rahul’s lawyers, Sudip Pasbola and Kushal Mor, sought time to appeal to the Supreme Court. The complainant’s lawyer opposed this, as the case has been pending since 2021.
