Special court defers Rahul Gandhi's defamation case hearing to 18 Jan

An MP-MLA court on Saturday postponed the hearing in a case filed against Congress MP Rahul Gandhi for allegedly making objectionable remarks against Union home minister Amit Shah, as advocates were occupied with a judicial workshop. The hearing has now been postponed to 18 January.

The case stems from a lawsuit filed on 4 August 2018 by BJP leader Vijay Mishra, who accused Gandhi of making the remarks. Mishra's lawyer Santosh Pandey said advocates were unavailable owing to a judicial workshop in the court for junior advocates.

He said the court had summoned Gandhi on 16 December in the case, but he did not appear. The court then summoned the Congress leader on 6 January.

Earlier on 18 November 2023, judge Yogesh Yadav had reserved the verdict after arguments, posted the matter for the next hearing on 27 November and summoned Gandhi to appear on 16 December.

Mishra, a former chairman of a cooperative bank, is a resident of Hanumanganj.