Case against Rahul: Court gives last chance to complainant

The case pertains to alleged objectionable remarks made by Rahul against Union home minister Amit Shah during the 2018 Karnataka Assembly election campaign.

On Monday, final arguments in the case were expected to take place but the complainant and BJP functionary Vijay Mishra’s counsel sought additional time, informing the court that he intended to challenge an earlier order rejecting his application related to evidence verification.

Complainant’s counsel SK Pandey told the court that he plans to file a revision petition before a higher court after obtaining a certified copy of the previous order.

Pandey had earlier moved an application seeking verification and matching of Rahul Gandhi’s voice sample with an audio recording in a CD submitted as evidence in the case. The application was rejected by the court earlier this month.

On May 2, the MP/MLA court had dismissed an application filed under Section 311 of the CrPC by the complainant’s side and fixed May 11 for final arguments.

Rahul Gandhi had surrendered before the Sultanpur court on February 20, 2024, following which he was granted bail on two sureties of ₹25,000 each by Special Magistrate Shubham Verma.

Later, on July 26, 2024, Gandhi recorded his statement before the court under Section 313 of the CrPC, maintaining that he was innocent and alleging that the case was politically motivated.

Following his statement, the complainant’s side examined witnesses and submitted evidence before the court. However, Gandhi’s counsel reportedly did not file any additional evidence in support of his defence.