The Jharkhand High Court on Friday rejected Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s petition seeking to quash proceedings in a criminal defamation suit filed against him for alleged derogatory remarks about BJP leader Amit Shah in 2018, as ANI reported.
On February 16, Gandhi submitted his written version in court, and the decision was reserved by Justice Ambuj Nath.
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The case stems from a 2018 election speech by Gandhi during the Congress session in Chaibasa. BJP leader Naveen Jha filed the defamation suit, accusing Gandhi of making objectionable remarks about then BJP national president Amit Shah.
Gandhi was granted bail on February 20 in another defamation case filed by BJP leader Vijay Mishra in Sultanpur. This case, filed on August 4, 2018, alleged objectionable comments made by Gandhi against Shah during a Bengaluru press conference on May 8 that year, coinciding with the Karnataka elections.
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In his remarks, Gandhi referred to the BJP’s claim of honest politics despite having a party president, Shah, who was an “accused” in a murder case.
This comment was made while Shah was the BJP president. Four years earlier, a special CBI court in Mumbai had acquitted Shah in a 2005 fake encounter case during his tenure as the Minister of State for Home in Gujarat.
Rahul Gandhi couldn’t attend the previous hearing on January 18 in the MP-MLA court due to his commitments to the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.