Rahul Gandhi defamation case: SC stays proceedings against Congress leader over remarks on Amit Shah

The Jharkhand high court last year refused to interfere with a non-bailable warrant issued by the MP/MLA court in Jharkhand’s Chaibasa court.

The Supreme Court on Monday stayed trial court proceedings against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a criminal defamation case filed against him for alleged defamatory remarks against Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Naveen Jha, a BJP worker, had filed the case against Gandhi in 2019 for his alleged remarks against Shah. During one of his public speeches in Chaibasa before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Gandhi had allegedly referred to Shah as a “murderer”.

During one of his public speeches in Chaibasa before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Gandhi had allegedly referred to Shah as a “murderer”.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta issued notice to the Jharkhand government and the BJP leader while seeking their response on Gandhi's appeal.

The complaint said that the comments alleging Shah as a "murder accused" was an insult to all workers, supporters and leaders of the party dedicated selflessly for the party’s work.

The Jharkhand high court last year refused to interfere with a non-bailable warrant issued by the MP/MLA court in Jharkhand’s Chaibasa court.

The HC found the comments made by the Congress leader and present Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha as “prima facie defamatory” and said, “The alleged statement points out that Gandhi has imputed that the BJP leadership was drunk with power and was composed of liars. It further means that the party workers of the BJP will accept such person/persons as their leader. This imputation is prima facie defamatory in nature.”

Gandhi has challenged the Jharkhand High Court order, which rejected his petition to quash proceedings against him in a trial court in connection with the complaint.