Sultanpur,

02 May (HS): In a defamation case involving Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in

Sultanpur district, Uttar Pradesh, the MP-MLA court on Saturday rejected an

application for matching Rahul Gandhi's voice sample. The plaintiff's lawyer

will file a revision. The case relates to alleged objectionable remarks against

Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The next hearing has been scheduled for May

11th. Magistrate Shubham Verma's court, after hearing the complainant's

application on Saturday, while giving its verdict, rejected the demand for

voice sample. Also, while fixing the date of 11 May for the next hearing, the

court has directed the arguments and the defence to file bail bonds.

During

the hearing, the complainant's lawyer Santosh Pandey argued that voice sample

is necessary to check the authenticity of the alleged audio-video. Whereas the

defence's lawyer Kashi Prasad Shukla opposed the application calling it legally

inappropriate. After hearing the arguments of both the parties, the court

reserved the order on which while giving its verdict on Saturday, rejected the

complainant's demand.

The

defamation case was filed by BJP leader Vijay Mishra in October 2018. Rahul

Gandhi surrendered in the court on February 20, 2024, after which the special

magistrate granted him bail on two sureties of Rs 25,000 each. Rahul Gandhi

appeared before the MP/MLA court on July 26, 2024, and recorded his statement.

He declared his innocence and called the case a political conspiracy. Following

Rahul Gandhi's statement, the court directed the plaintiffs to present

evidence, and witnesses have been produced continuously since then.

Earlier,

on February 20th, Rahul Gandhi had recorded his statement under Section 313 of

the CrPC in the MP/MLA court. The court had asked him to present his defense

and evidence regarding his innocence. However, Rahul Gandhi's lawyer, Kashi

Prasad Shukla, did not present any defense or evidence in court.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi