The Bombay High Court (HC) on Tuesday reserved orders on a petition filed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi seeking the quashing of a defamation complaint over his alleged remarks against Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, news agency PTI reported.
A single bench of Justice NR Borkar heard the plea and closed it for orders.
The defamation complaint was lodged against Gandhi before a magistrate`s court in Girgaon, Mumbai, in August 2019 by Mahesh Hukumchand Shrishrimal, who is also a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
According to the complainant, Gandhi had made defamatory statements against PM Modi at a rally in Rajasthan in September 2018.
Acting on the complaint filed by the petitioner, the magistrate`s court had issued a summons to the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha. Gandhi challenged the petition in the Bombay HC, terming it frivolous and vexatious, which deserved to be quashed.
Rahul Gandhi appears in UP court in 2018 defamation case
Last week, Gandhi had appeared before an MP-MLA court in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, to record his statement in another 2018 defamation case.
The case relates to the remarks he allegedly made about Union Home Minister Amit Shah during the Karnataka Elections in 2018.
The court has scheduled the next hearing for March 9, when Gandhi is expected to provide evidence in his defence, his advocate Kashi Prasad Shukla told PTI.
Heavy security arrangements were put in place at the civil court premises. A dog squad conducted a thorough search of the complex to prevent any untoward incident. A large police contingent, including an additional superintendent of police (ASP) and four circle officers (COs), was deployed to maintain order, news agency IANS reported.
Ahead of the court appearance, local Congress leaders put up posters in Sultanpur reading “Satyamev Jayate (truth always triumphs).”
Gandhi was accompanied by senior Congress leaders, including Rajya Sabha MP Pramod Tiwari, MLA Aradhana Mishra, and UP Congress chief Ajay Rai.
Speaking to the media, Tiwari criticised the BJP, saying, “The BJP is continuously filing false and fabricated cases against him across the entire country. Similarly, a case has been filed in Sultanpur. We have faith in the judiciary; we will get justice. He is coming today to appear in that very matter.”
(With inputs from agencies)
