Rahul Gandhi asked to appear in UP court on 6 January

The MP-MLA Court in Uttar Pradesh's Sultanpur district has summoned Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on 6 January in connection with a case in which he has been accused of making objectionable remarks against Union home minister Amit Shah.

As per media reports, the court had earlier directed Gandhi to appear on Saturday, 16 December, but he did not do so.

The case relates to a lawsuit filed on 4 August 2018 by BJP leader Vijay Mishra, in which he accused Gandhi of making objectionable remarks against Shah.

Mishra's advocate Santosh Pandey said the MP-MLA court of Sultanpur had summoned Gandhi on 16 December in the case, but he did not appear.

Pandey said that on 18 November, judge Yogesh Yadav reserved the verdict after arguments, and posted the next hearing for 27 November and summoned Gandhi to appear on 16 December. Mishra is a former chairman of a cooperative bank and a resident of Hanumanganj.