Rahul Gandhi Faces Court Over Defamation Allegations

Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, will appear in the MP-MLA Special Magistrate Court on Tuesday. This development comes as Gandhi faces charges related to making defamatory statements about Indian soldiers during the Bharat Jodo Yatra. According to his advocate Pranshu Agarwal, the court had summoned Gandhi as an accused, following a complaint filed against him.

Earlier, Gandhi had approached the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court, seeking relief against the summons, but the court did not provide any reprieve. Gandhi's legal team, led by advocate Agarwal, announced their intention to seek bail once the Congress leader appears in court.

The complaint, lodged by Uday Shankar Srivastava—a retired director of the Border Roads Organisation—alleges that Gandhi's comments on December 16, 2022, about a clash between Indian and Chinese soldiers were defamatory. The complainant claims that Gandhi's remarks during the Bharat Jodo Yatra hurt him, specifically relating to the December 9 border incident in Arunachal Pradesh.

(With inputs from agencies.)