Rahul Gandhi acquitted in 2018 defamation case

Rahul Gandhi was acquitted Monday by a special court in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, in a criminal defamation case over remarks he made about Amit Shah in 2018. The ruling ended a case brought by local Bharatiya Janata Party leader Vijay Mishra, who alleged that Gandhi had defamed Shah, then the party’s national president. The complaint concerned remarks Gandhi allegedly made during the 2018 Karnataka Assembly election campaign, referring to Shah as an accused in a murder case. Shah was discharged in 2014 by a special court in a separate case related to the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh. Reports of the Sultanpur court’s reasoning differ. One account said the court found Gandhi’s remarks were not defamatory and Mishra was not an aggrieved person; another reported that the acquittal was based on a lack of evidence. The written order was not reproduced in the accounts. The case was brought under Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code. Gandhi appeared in court for the verdict after travelling to Sultanpur. The proceedings had lasted nearly eight years. Gandhi surrendered before the court in February 2024 and was granted bail, and his statement was recorded that July. The court...