New Delhi, January 20
The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the trial court’s proceedings in the criminal defamation case filed against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his alleged insulting comments against Union Home Minister Amit Shah. BJP worker Naveen Jha had filed a case against Rahul in 2019 for his alleged comments against Shah. During one of his speeches in Chaibasa ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Rahul Gandhi allegedly used the word ‘murderer’ for Shah. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta has issued a notice to the Jharkhand government and the BJP leader on Rahul Gandhi’s appeal and sought their response. The bench has also stayed the further proceedings of the case till further orders. Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Rahul, argued that there are several judgments in which it has been said that only the aggrieved person can file a complaint for criminal defamation. He said that a defamation complaint cannot be filed by a ‘proxy third party’. Rahul has challenged the order of the Jharkhand High Court, which dismissed his appeal seeking to quash the proceedings in the lower court. The Congress leader had challenged the magistrate court’s order directing him to appear in court in person for the trial. -News-Patiala
Case registered against Rahul Gandhi in Assam
Guwahati:
A case has been registered against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Assam for his remarks ‘threat to the sovereignty of the country’. The opposition has termed this case as a political stunt. The police said that advocate Manjit Chetia has filed a complaint in the Panbazar police station here. The police said that this complaint has been filed regarding the remarks made by the opposition leader during the inauguration of the new national headquarters of the Congress in New Delhi last week. Advocate Chetia alleged that Gandhi had said in his speech that BJP and RSS have captured every institution in the country and they (Congress) are now fighting BJP, RSS as well as the state of India. -News-Patiala
