Jharkhand High Court extends interim relief granted to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in defamation case
Allegedly, before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, in an internal meeting of the All India Congress Committee, Rahul Gandhi had said that no killer can become national president in Congress, but the same is possible in BJP as only the members of BJP can make a murderer party's national president.
The Jharkhand High Court on Monday extended the interim relief granted to Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi from any coercive action in the defamation case registered against him for his alleged defamatory remarks on Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP).
While posting the matter for further hearing on January 11, 2023, the bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar Dwivedi directed that the interim order passed earlier shall remain in force till the next date.
On May 12, 2022, on a plea moved by Gandhi for quashing the case, the same bench had directed the state government and the complainant in the case to file their respective counter-affidavits by September 26. In the meantime, court had ordered that no coercive steps shall be taken against Gandhi in the present case.
The matter pertains to a complaint filed by a local BJP leader from Chaibasa, Pratap Kumar, alleging that while defaming BJP members, in one of his speeches, Rahul Gandhi had said that no killer can become the national president in Congress, but the same is possible in BJP as only the members of BJP can make a murderer party's national president.
The alleged remark was made during Gandhi's speech at the National convention of Congress before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Taking cognizance of the matter, the trial court had issued a bailable warrant against Rahul Gandhi on 7 April, 2022. Against the same, Gandhi moved the high court.
It was argued on behalf of Gandhi that he was addressing an internal meeting of the All India Congress Committee where he made certain remarks which were not meant for anybody else.
It was further contended that in the present matter the complainant can not be considered an aggrieved person in terms of Section 198 of Cr.P.C as well as explanation (2) of Section 499 of IPC which states that an association, a company or collection of person is capable of being defamed, but such person must be a determined body.
[Inputs: Jagran]
Case Title: Rahul Gandhi v. the State of Jharkhand and Another