The Jharkhand High Court on Wednesday provided relief to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in the defamation case of 2018.
The High Court stayed the non-bailable warrant issued from Chaibasa MP-MLA Court for a month.
In the defamation case, the special MP-MLA court of Chaibasa in West SInghbhum district of the State had ordered Rahul Gandhi to be physically present on March 27.
The court has issued the order in a case of 2018, when Rahul Gandhi had made objectionable remarks on Bharatiya Janata Party and it’s the then National President Amit Shah.
Rahul Gandhi had made a statement on 18th March, 2018 in AICC Plenary Sessions in New Delhi stating, “The people of this country will accept a lying Bhartiya Janata Party leadership drunk with power because they know that, what the Bhartiya Janata Party is designed for.”
“They will, accept a man accused of murder as the President of Bhartiya Janata Party but the people will never accept the same in the Congress Party,” he further said.
At that time, the incumbent Home Minister Amit Shah was holding the post of National President of BJP.
State Vice President of BJP Yuva Morcha Pratap Katiyar had filed a case in the MP MLA Court of Chaibasa against this statement of Rahul.
Though the case was transferred to MP MLA Court in Ranchi, but after the MP-MLA Court started in Chaibasa, it was transferred to Chaibasa.
In April 2022, Chaibasa MP-MLA Court had issued a bailable warrant against Rahul Gandhi in this case, on which no cognizance was taken.
On 27 February 2024, the court of Rishi Kumar issued a non-bailable warrant, after which Rahul Gandhi's lawyer had applied in the court seeking exemption from Rahul Gandhi's physical presence.
But the court of Judge Rishi Kumar rejected his application on March 14, 2024 and issued an order to Rahul Gandhi to be physically present on March 27.