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Since obtaining bail in February this year, Gandhi has missed 12 court dates and his lawyer has repeatedly filed applications for exemption on his behalf
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi did not appear in the Sultanpur MP/MLA Court on Tuesday (July 2, 2024) in connection with the defamation case over his alleged hate speech against Union Home Minister Amit Shah.Gandhi allegedly criticised the BJP for claiming to uphold honest and clean politics while having a party president who was "accused" in a murder case during a press conference in Bengaluru. At the time of Gandhi's comments, Amit Shah was serving as the BJP president.
The court has now scheduled the next hearing for July 26. Judge Shubham Verma warned that if Gandhi fails to appear in person on that date, action will be taken against him.
Notably, since obtaining bail, Gandhi has skipped 12 summons, including March 2, March 13, March 22, April 2, April 12, April 22, May 2, May 14, May 27, June 7, June 18, and June 26. His counsel, Kashi Prasad Shukla, has repeatedly filed applications for exemption on his behalf.
Gandhi was also absent during the previous hearing on June 26. When questioned by the court, Gandhi’s lawyer explained that his client was unable to attend due to the election for the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
The defamation complaint was filed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vijay Mishra on August 4, 2018. On February 20 this year, Gandhi paused his "Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra" in Amethi to appear in court, where he was granted bail. The MP/MLA Court on June 26 ordered Gandhi to appear and record his statement in the case.
The court, during the previous hearing also dismissed a plea by Ram Pratap, who sought to be made a party in the case. Gandhi's lawyer, Shukla, and the complainant's lawyer, Santosh Kumar Pandey, opposed the plea stating that he is neither a victim nor has anything to do with the matter.
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