New Delhi, 20 January 2025- Rahul Gandhi, a Congress leader, was charged with defamation for his remarks against Home Minister Amit Shah and the BJP, but the Supreme Court on Monday halted criminal proceedings against him.
Mr. Gandhi filed a Special Leave Petition against the Jharkhand High Court’s ruling that rejected his request to have the defamation case against him by BJP worker Navin Jha in 2018 dismissed. The case was being heard by a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta.
Speaking on behalf of Mr. Gandhi, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi stated that a number of rulings have demonstrated that a criminal defamation complaint can only be brought by the person who has been hurt and cannot be brought by a third party.
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In Frame:- Rahul Gandhi
The complainant, Navin Jha, and the Jharkhand government were given four weeks by the court to reply to Singhvi. Until further directives are given, it also paused any actions taken against Gandhi.
Rahul Gandhi’s attempts to have the defamation case against him dismissed were denied by the Jharkhand High Court in February of last year.
In 2018, Navin Jha accused Rahul Gandhi of calling Amit Shah a “murder accused” in a lawsuit he initiated against the Congress leader. Rahul Gandhi was accused of calling BJP employees “liars” and “drunk with power” by Jha.
