Supreme Court stays defamation case against Rahul Gandhi over Amit Shah

Photo: Instagram/@rahulgandhi

The Supreme Court has put a temporary hold on the defamation case against Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha. The case is related to his comments made in 2018, where he allegedly called Union Home Minister Amit Shah a “murderer.” This case was originally filed in a Jharkhand court.

The Supreme Court has also issued a notice to the state government and the complainant, Navin Jha, asking them to respond to Rahul Gandhi's petition. In the petition, Gandhi challenged an order from the Jharkhand High Court, which in February 2024, had refused to cancel the summons issued by the trial court.

Rahul Gandhi’s lawyer, Senior Counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi, argued that the defamation case was filed by a third person, which, according to the law, is not allowed. Singhvi pointed out that for a defamation case to be valid, the person filing the complaint must be directly affected by the remarks. He questioned how someone who isn’t directly harmed can file a complaint on behalf of others.

The case goes back to a public speech Gandhi made in Chaibasa before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. In that speech, Gandhi reportedly called Amit Shah a “murderer.” This led to Navin Jha, a BJP worker, filing a defamation case against Gandhi in 2019.

Initially, a magistrate court in Ranchi dismissed the complaint. However, a Judicial Commissioner overturned this decision, instructing the magistrate to review the case based on the available evidence. The court directed that fresh summons be issued to Rahul Gandhi, asking him to appear in court.
In November 2018, the magistrate court decided that there were enough reasons to charge Gandhi under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for defamation. This led to a fresh summons for Gandhi’s appearance.

Gandhi then went to the Jharkhand High Court to challenge the order, asking the court to cancel the summons. However, a single judge bench of the High Court dismissed his plea, saying that Gandhi’s remarks seemed to be defamatory. The judge observed that Gandhi’s comments implied that BJP leaders were “liars” who were “drunk with power” and would accept someone accused of murder as their party president. The judge believed that this was defamatory, and so, Gandhi’s plea was rejected.

Now, the Supreme Court has temporarily stopped the proceedings in this case and is looking into Rahul Gandhi’s petition.

Jan. 20, 2025 {{ Blogdetails.schedule_date|time }} 455

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