Rahul to appear before MP-MLA court on Wednesday over defamation case

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to appear before the MP-MLA Court in Jharkhand's Chaibasa on Wednesday in connection with a case on alleged defamatory remarks against Union Home Minister Amit Shah at a rally in 2018.

The Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha was in Jharkhand on Tuesday to attend the funeral of former chief minister Shibu Soren at his ancestral village Nemra in Ramgarh district.

''Rahul ji will stay in Ranchi tonight and visit Chaibasa on Wednesday to appear before the court. He will then return to Ranchi to leave for Delhi,'' Congress leader and former Jharkhand state party president Rajesh Thakur told PTI.

Gandhi had on June 2 moved the Jharkhand High Court challenging the order of the special court, which had directed him to appear before it on June 26.

The Congress MP's counsel had informed the high court on June 10 that his client would not be able to appear on the specified day, and instead requested it to grant a later date on August 6. The high court had accepted his request.

A case of defamation was filed against Gandhi by a person named Pratap Kumar for allegedly making defamatory statements against BJP leaders at a rally held in Chaibasa in 2018.

Kumar, in his petition filed before the court of the magistrate in Chaibasa, had said that Gandhi's statements were defamatory and made purposely to malign the stature of Shah.

Meanwhile, security has been beefed up in Chaibasa, the district headquarters of West Singhbhum, ahead of the arrival of Gandhi.

The West Singhbhum district administration has made adequate security arrangements to maintain law and order, said Sub-Divisional Officer (Sadar) Sandeep Anurag Topno.

Topno said a helipad has been set up at Tata College Ground, where Gandhi will land in a helicopter around 10 am on Wednesday.

He is likely to appear in court around 10.40 am and return to Ranchi, the SDO said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)