Sultanpur (UP), Sep 21 (PTI) Arguments began on Monday in the defamation case pending against Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi in a special court in Sultanpur.
Santosh Kumar Pandey, the counsel for the complainant BJP leader Vijay Mishra, presented arguments on Monday, but the proceedings could not be concluded.
Additional Civil Judge (Senior Division)/ ACJM Shubham Verma of the Special MP-MLA Court has fixed September 29 for the remaining arguments in the case, Gandhi’s counsel, Kashi Prasad Shukla, said.
Shukla added that he would present arguments in the case once the complainant’s arguments conclude.
On September 16, the court gave the complainant a final opportunity to present arguments, fixing September 21 for the next hearing with a warning against further delay.
The case relates to alleged objectionable remarks made by Gandhi against Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the then BJP chief, in Bengaluru in 2018.
Mishra, a former chairman of a district cooperative bank, had filed the defamation complaint against Gandhi on August 4, 2018.
The court had summoned Gandhi to appear in the case on November 27, 2023.
After he failed to appear, a warrant was issued. Gandhi subsequently appeared before the court on February 20, 2024, and was granted bail after furnishing two sureties of Rs 25,000 and Rs 24,000. His statement was recorded in the case on July 26, 2024.
Mishra, on March 28, 2026, sought matching of Gandhi’s voice sample with a compact disc he had submitted to the special court. The disc reportedly contains video and audio recordings of Gandhi’s 2018 election speech in Bengaluru.
The trial court rejected the plea on May 2, and the sessions court dismissed his challenge on July 15. Mishra subsequently approached the Allahabad High Court, which also dismissed his petition, Shukla said.
On September 3, the complainant’s lawyer had informed the court that a petition challenging the rejection of an application seeking comparison of Gandhi’s voice sample had been filed in the high court on September 1. PTI COR NAV KSS KSS
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