Sultanpur, 11 May

(HS): On Monday, a special MP/MLA court in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, offered

the complainant's lawyer a final opportunity to submit a revision plea against

an earlier ruling in the defamation case against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. The

court set May 21 as the next date of hearing in the case. Gandhi's counsel,

Kashi Prasad Shukla, said arguments in the case were planned for Monday, but

the complainant's lawyer requested an extension, alerting the court that he

wanted to dispute a previous judgment through a revision petition.

Santosh Kumar Pandey, attorney representing local

BJP leader Vijay Mishra, stated that he intends to pursue the topic of proof

verification. Pandey stated that he had previously sought a match between

Gandhi's voice sample and the voice found on a CD supplied in connection with

the case. However, the court denied the application. He stated that a revision

petition will be filed with a higher court after getting a certified copy of

the order and requested time from the court on this basis.

On May 2, the Sultanpur court rejected an

application filed by the complainant's attorney under Section 311 of the CrPC

and set May 11 for final arguments in the matter.

Mishra filed the defamation suit in October 2018 after Gandhi allegedly made

unpleasant statements about Amit Shah while campaigning for the Karnataka

Assembly elections.

Gandhi, the opposition leader in the Lok Sabha,

surrendered to the court on February 20, 2024, after which Special Magistrate

Shubham Verma granted him bail with two sureties of Rs 25,000 apiece. On July

26, 2024, Gandhi came in front of the MP/MLA court and recorded his statement,

declaring his innocence and that the case was part of a political plot.

Following his speech, the court instructed the complainant's side to produce

evidence, and witnesses were questioned in the case. Previously, while

recording Gandhi's testimony under Section 313 of the CrPC, the court directed

him to produce evidence or explanation in support of his defence. However, his

attorneys did not provide any more evidence to the court.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi