Varanasi Court Dismisses Plea Against Rahul Gandhi Over 'Lord Ram' Remark

A special MP-MLA court in Varanasi on Tuesday dismissed a petition filed against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his controversial reference to Lord Ram as a "fictional character" during a speech at a U.S. university last month.

The complaint, filed by Advocate Harishankar Pandey, alleged that Gandhi’s remarks had hurt religious sentiments. However, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Neeraj Kumar Tripathi rejected the plea as “non-maintainable,” citing provisions under Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023.

The petition, filed by Advocate Harishankar Pandey, urged the court to direct registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against Gandhi under appropriate penal provisions.

The All India Congress Committee (AICC) had also been named as a respondent in the case, in light of its role as the central decision-making body of the Indian National Congress.

According to the complainant, Gandhi's remarks made on April 21 during an interaction at Brown University in Boston, represented a wilful attempt to denigrate religious beliefs, created communal discord and constituted hate speech.