Sultanpur court acquits Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi in a 2018 criminal defamation case over remarks about Amit Shah. (Img: X)
New Delhi: An MP/MLA court in Uttar Pradesh's Sultanpur district on Monday acquitted Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in a case filed against him for allegedly making a defamatory statement against the then BJP President Amit Shah.
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Shubham Verma held that Gandhi’s remarks did not amount to defamation, bringing an end at the trial-court level to the case filed by BJP leader Vijay Mishra in 2018. The complaint stemmed from comments Gandhi allegedly made at a press conference in Bengaluru during the Karnataka Assembly election campaign. As per the complainant, Gandhi had allegedly called Shah, the then BJP President, a "murder accused".
The criminal complaint was brought under Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which deal with the definition of defamation and its punishment. The complainant alleged that Gandhi’s remarks were objectionable and damaged Shah’s reputation by referring to him as an accused in a murder case.
Gandhi contested the allegations during the proceedings, maintaining that his remarks had been presented out of context. The complainant, meanwhile, argued that the statement was defamatory. After considering the case, the Sultanpur court concluded that the remarks did not constitute defamation and acquitted the Congress leader.
The controversy concerned the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case, in which Shah was discharged by a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in 2014. Gandhi’s remarks had questioned the BJP’s claims of honesty and propriety while referring to the allegations that had surrounded Shah at the time.
The acquittal marks a significant development in a politically sensitive case that has remained in the spotlight because of the prominent political figures involved. It also brings renewed attention to the legal boundaries of political speech, public criticism and criminal defamation during election campaigns.
The case originated in 2018, when Gandhi made the remarks during the Karnataka election campaign. BJP leader Vijay Mishra subsequently filed a complaint alleging that the statement was defamatory. The proceedings continued in Sultanpur, where the court eventually delivered its verdict after hearing the matter.
The case centred on whether Gandhi’s comments crossed the legal threshold for criminal defamation or constituted political criticism in the context of allegations previously associated with Shah. The court’s finding that the remarks were not defamatory formed the basis of Gandhi’s acquittal.
The Sultanpur verdict also brings attention to Gandhi’s separate legal battle over his 2019 remarks concerning the Modi surname. In that case, a Gujarat court convicted him in 2023 and sentenced him to two years in prison. The conviction led to his disqualification from the Lok Sabha, as he was then the MP from Wayanad.
The Supreme Court subsequently stayed the conviction, enabling Gandhi to regain his parliamentary position. That case was separate from the Sultanpur proceedings involving his 2018 remarks about Shah. Gandhi was represented in the Sultanpur case by Senior Advocate R.S. Cheema, along with advocates Kashi Shukla, Tarannum Cheema, Prasanna S. and Akash Singh.
The acquittal is a notable legal development for the Congress leader as political parties prepare for upcoming electoral contests. The verdict also underscores the importance of examining the context of political statements when determining whether they meet the legal standard for criminal defamation.
