Supreme Court pulls up Rahul Gandhi over 2020 China 'land grab' remark: 'How do you know 2,000 sq km was occupied?'

During his 2023 Bharat Jodo Yatra, the Congress leader claimed that a former Army officer had told him that China had occupied 2,000 square kilometres of Indian territory.

The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the proceedings in the criminal defamation case against Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, over his statement that Indian Army was “thrashed” by Chinese Army at the border in Arunachal Pradesh in December 2022.

A bench comprising Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice AG Masih made oral remarks.

"Whatever you have to say, why don't you say it in the Parliament? Why do you have to say this in social media posts?" Justice Datta said as quoted by Livelaw.

During his Bharat Jodo Yatra, the Congress leader claimed that a former Army officer had told him that China had occupied 2,000 square kilometres of Indian territory.

According to Livelaw, at the beginning of the hearing, Senior advocate Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi, on behalf of Gandhi submitted that if an opposition leader cannot raise issues, it would be an unfortunate situation. "If he can't say these things which are published in the Press, he can't be a leader of opposition," Singhvi said.

However, the court disapproved of Gandhi's comments. "Tell Dr.Singhvi, how do you get to know that 2000 square kilometres of Indian territory were occupied by the Chinese? Were you there? Do you have any credible material? Why do you make these statements without any...If you were a true Indian, you would not say all this," said Justice Datta.

The defamation complaint, filed by former Border Roads Organisation (BRO) Director Uday Shankar Srivastava and presently pending in a court in Lucknow, stated that the alleged derogatory remarks by Gandhi were made on December 16, 2022, during his Bharat Jodo Yatra, according to Livelaw.

Gandhi had earlier challenged the summons in the Allahabad High Court. The Congress leader had  argued that his freedom of speech was being curtailed. However, on 29 May 2025, the High Court dismissed his plea, stating that freedom of expression does not extend to defaming constitutional institutions like the Indian Army.

Gandhi then approached the Supreme Court with a special leave petition (SLP), which was heard on Monday.

BJP slams Gandhi

In a post on X, BJP leader Amit Malviya said the top court has once again reprimanded "China Guru" Gandhi for making irresponsible statements concerning India’s national security and territorial integrity.

"Imagine, a Leader of the Opposition being repeatedly rebuked for speaking such recklessly. His recent “dead economy” jibe is just the latest in a long series. In doing so, he implicitly admitted that Russia, a long-standing ally, is struggling, while bizarrely endorsing a hostile state like Pakistan as having a robust economy. A diplomatic disaster on multiple fronts," Malviya said on X.