In a legal relief for senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, a special MP/MLA court in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, on Monday dismissed a criminal defamation case filed against him over his 2018 remarks concerning Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Shubham Verma ruled that Gandhi’s statements did not constitute defamation and acquitted the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha. Gandhi was present in court when the verdict was delivered, prompting celebrations among Congress supporters, who hailed the decision as a vindication of truth.
Rahul Gandhi Gets Relief in Amit Shah Remarks Case. The case originated in August 2018, when Gandhi, the then Congress president, criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) while referring to the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case. Shah, who was heading the BJP at the time, had faced accusations in connection with the case. Gandhi had questioned the party’s claims of honesty and propriety, referring to Shah as a person accused of murder. His remarks prompted objections from the BJP and led to a complaint by Vijay Mishra, a former chairman of the Sultanpur district cooperative bank.
Mishra filed the defamation complaint on August 4, 2018, alleging that Gandhi’s statements had harmed Shah’s reputation. The matter continued through the judicial process, with the court summoning Gandhi on November 27, 2023, to face trial. Gandhi subsequently appeared before the court and obtained bail. During the proceedings, Mishra sought a comparison of Gandhi’s voice sample, but the trial court rejected the application. The complainant challenged that decision before the sessions court, which dismissed his revision petition. The Allahabad High Court later rejected his challenge to the decisions of the lower courts.
The latest ruling brings relief to Gandhi in a case that had remained pending for several years. By concluding that the remarks did not amount to defamation, the Sultanpur court rejected the complaint against him. The decision also triggered a political response from the Congress, which welcomed the verdict on social media. “Satyamev Jayate!” the party declared in a post on X, describing Gandhi’s acquittal as a victory for truth.
The verdict is likely to become another point of political debate between the Congress and the BJP, particularly given the prominence of both Gandhi and Shah in national politics. For the Congress, the decision provides an opportunity to portray the proceedings as an instance in which its leader’s position has received judicial vindication. At the same time, the ruling should be understood in the context of the specific allegations and evidence examined by the court, rather than as a blanket judgment on the broader political dispute between the two parties.
The case illustrates how politically charged statements can lead to prolonged legal proceedings and become part of the wider contest between rival parties. With the Sultanpur court dismissing the defamation complaint, Gandhi has secured a favourable outcome in this particular matter, closing a legal chapter that began with his remarks nearly eight years ago.
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