Verdict ends an eight-year legal battle over the Congress leader’s “murder accused” jibe at a Bengaluru rall
Sultanpur, October 26: A special MP/MLA court in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, on Monday acquitted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of all charges in a 2018 criminal defamation case over remarks he made about Amit Shah, who was BJP president at the time.
Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and MP from Raebareli, appeared in person before Additional Civil Judge Shubham Verma for the verdict. He flew into Lucknow in the morning and travelled to Sultanpur by road, where heavy security had been deployed around the court. His counsel, Kashi Prasad Shukla, confirmed the acquittal.
The case goes back to May 8, 2018, when Gandhi allegedly called Shah a “murder accused” at a rally in Bengaluru during the Karnataka Assembly election campaign. Vijay Mishra, then a BJP district vice-president and a former chairman of the Sultanpur District Cooperative Bank, filed the complaint that August.
Gandhi was summoned in November 2023 and surrendered and secured bail in February 2024. During the trial, the court recorded statements from three witnesses, including the complainant. Mishra’s request to match Gandhi’s voice with the rally recording was rejected by the trial court, a decision upheld by the sessions court and the Allahabad High Court. Final arguments concluded on October 12.
The Uttar Pradesh Congress welcomed the verdict, saying the court had cleared Gandhi in the case
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