Sultanpur (UP), Oct 26: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was acquitted by a special MP-MLA court here on Monday in a defamation case related to his remarks against then BJP president Amit Shah in 2018.
Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Raebareli MP, appeared before the court for the pronouncement of the verdict.
Plaintiff Vijay Mishra’s lawyer Santosh Pandey said Gandhi has been acquitted by the court.
Congress workers celebrated the verdict outside the court complex with beating of drums and distributing sweets among themselves and chanting “Satyamev Jayate” (truth alone triumphs) as Gandhi emerged from the premises after his acquittal.
The matter was being heard in the court of Special Judge for MP-MLA cases Shubham Verma.
After the verdict, Mishra’s counsel Pandey said the court had accepted the CD he had submitted as evidence. 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. I will take copy of it and study it and file it in appellate court after consulting my client,” Pandey told PTI Vidoes.
Mishra said, “Gandhi has been acquitted in light of insufficient evidence. We will take the order copy, study it and then proceed for appeal in court according to the counsel we get”.
A lawyer from Congress’s legal team, who was present in Sultanpur, told PTI: “We were convinced that the case was filed less on merit and more due to extraneous considerations. That is why we were convinced the case would be decided in our favour.”
Gandhi arrived at Lucknow’s Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport this morning. Hundreds of Congress workers and local party leaders had gathered at the airport to welcome the Raebareli MP.
Some vehicles trailing Gandhi’s convoy had piled up on the Purvanchal Expressway while the motorcade was on its way to the court in Sultanpur from Lucknow.
Around six vehicles linked to Congress workers from Amethi were involved in the collision but none suffered serious injuries, a police official said.
Security arrangements were strengthened in Sultanpur, particularly around the court complex, in view of the proceedings, police officials said. The case relates to the remarks made by Gandhi against Shah at a rally in Bengaluru ahead of the 2018 Karnataka Assembly elections.
Mishra, a local BJP politician and former chairman of the District Cooperative Bank in Sultanpur, filed the defamation complaint against Gandhi on August 4, 2018.
Gandhi appeared before the court in 2023 and secured bail. The court had earlier fixed October 13 for pronouncing its verdict, which was subsequently scheduled for October 26. (PTI)
