Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, is set to appear before a Sultanpur court today in connection with a defamation case concerning remarks he made about Home Minister Amit Shah.
Gandhi will arrive at Lucknow airport and proceed to Sultanpur for the court appearance.
Special Magistrate Shubham Verma has summoned Gandhi to record his statement, warning of stern action if he fails to comply, as he has missed 12 consecutive hearings.
Gandhi was previously granted bail in this case on February 20, interrupting his ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ to attend the court proceedings.
In the previous hearing, Gandhi's lawyer, Kashi Prasad Shukla, explained that his absence on July 2 was due to his parliamentary duties as the Leader of Opposition.
Background of the defamation case
The defamation complaint against Gandhi was filed on August 4, 2018, following remarks he made during a press conference in Bengaluru.
Gandhi criticised the BJP, asserting that the party, which claimed to believe in honest and clean politics, had a party president who was an "accused" in a murder case, referring to Shah who was then the BJP chief.
Vijay Mishra, a local BJP leader and district cooperative chairman, filed the case, alleging that Gandhi's comments were damaging to Amit Shah's reputation.
The defamation charges are under Indian Penal Code sections 499, which deals with spreading rumours to damage someone's reputation, and 500, which pertains to defamation.
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