A Bengaluru Special court on Friday granted bail to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case filed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The case stems from allegations of false advertisements against BJP leaders.
Bail was granted to Rahul Gandhi on the security of DK Suresh, and the matter has been posted for the next hearing on July 30th. The Wayanad MP appeared before the court concerning the defamation case, which involves claims of a smear campaign against the previous government ahead of the Karnataka Assembly polls in 2023.
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On Saturday, the court directed Gandhi to appear personally before it on June 7 in connection with the case ‘without fail’. In the same case, Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar, alongside Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, was granted bail on June 1. Rahul Gandhi is the fourth accused in the defamation case filed by the BJP against Congress leaders, with the Congress party, Shivakumar, and Siddaramaiah also named as accused.
The BJP Karnataka unit also sought a non-bailable warrant against Rahul Gandhi for his non-appearance, although Congress leaders argued that he was not linked to the publication of the advertisements in question. The court exempted Rahul Gandhi’s appearance on that date but mandated his presence on June 7.
The defamation case originates from a private complaint filed by BJP functionary and MLC Keshav Prasad on May 8 2023, alleging that Congress leaders labelled the BJP government’s administration from 2019 to 2023 in the state as corrupt.
What is the case all about?
The complaint accused the Congress of defaming the BJP by alleging that the BJP leadership had set prices for various government positions, such as Rs 2,500 crore for the Chief Minister’s post and Rs 500 crore for a minister’s post, resulting in governance corruption.
Furthermore, the Congress published advertisements on May 5, 2023 claiming commissions of 75% in COVID-19 kit tenders, 40% for PWD tenders, 30% for grants to religious organisations, and other deals. The BJP state general secretary, S. Keshav Prasad, described these allegations as “an insult to the BJP party during the elections” in a private complaint filed on May 8.
The special court issued a summons to the Congress leaders on March 11, 2024. Rahul Gandhi initially informed the court through his advocate that he could not attend due to the Lok Sabha elections and requested a date in June.
“The counsel for Accused No.4 submitted that the said Accused has to travel from Delhi and he is unable to keep himself present before this court prior to the upcoming elections. And prayed to post the case for the appearance of Accused No.4 in the month of June. Taking into consideration the attending circumstances time is granted for appearance of the accused No.4 by 01.06.2024 …,” the court said earlier on March 28 this year.