Sultanpur,

28 March (HS): A plea to collect Rahul Gandhi's voice sample was submitted in

MP-MLA court here on Saturday during a hearing in a defamation case against the

Congress leader for allegedly making offensive statements about then-BJP

president Amit Shah in 2018. Plaintiff Vijay Mishra's lawyer, Santosh Kumar

Pandey, stated that he filed an application seeking that Gandhi's voice sample

be taken and sent to a forensic science laboratory for comparison with a CD

that had previously been given to court. Rahul Gandhi's attorneys have filed

challenges to this demand. Pandey stated that the next hearing in the subject

is scheduled for April 6. Gandhi, the Lok Sabha MP from Raebareli, appeared in

court on February 20 and made a statement, stating that the charge was

initiated against him out of political vendetta.

He further

informed the court that the audio and video evidence given by the complainant

were wrong and that he would present his own proof. Gandhi was granted a

warrant in December 2023 after failing to appear in court. He eventually

surrendered before the court in February 2024 and was given bail on two Rs

25,000 surety bonds each. The hearing was pushed back to Friday owing to the

Ram Navami holiday. Pandey stated that at the last hearing, the complainant's

side submitted a motion to verify audio and video evidence of Gandhi's

purported utterances by comparing them to his original voice. The complaint

originates from Gandhi's alleged offensive statements about Shah during the

2018 Karnataka election campaign. Following the statements, Vijay Mishra, a

Sultanpur resident, filed a defamation suit.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi