The Special MP-MLA court in Sultanpur on Monday acquitted Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress MP from Rae Bareli, in an eight-year-old defamation case linked to “murder accused” remarks against the then BJP national president Amit Shah, who is now the Union home minister.
In a 49-page judgment, the court held that the complainant Vijay Mishra is neither the person aggrieved under Section 199 of the Criminal Procedure Code nor member of a definite identifiable class and the alleged statement does not cross the higher threshold required for defamation in political discourse.
Special Judge (MP-MLA court) Shubham Verma pronounced the judgment in the presence of Rahul Gandhi, who had reached Sultanpur from Lucknow in the morning to attend the proceedings. The court held that the charges were not proved.
Holding that the complaint appears concocted, unnatural, uncorroborated and motivated for political purpose to gain popularity as the complainant himself admitted that the media takes his interview, which runs nationwide, the court acquitted Rahul Gandhi.
“The alleged imputation (made by Rahul Gandhi during a press conference in Bengaluru on May 8, 2018 ) is about Amit Shah primarily and at best BJP. Nowhere is Vijay Mishra named,” the court said in its order.
{{/usCountry}}“The alleged imputation (made by Rahul Gandhi during a press conference in Bengaluru on May 8, 2018 ) is about Amit Shah primarily and at best BJP. Nowhere is Vijay Mishra named,” the court said in its order.
{{/usCountry}}“His (Vijay Mishra) claim that his prestige is inseparably linked with Shah and BJP so that insult to them is insult to him was not proved. No independent public witness was produced, all PWs (prosecution witnesses) are BJP workers,” the court said.
No authorisation letter from BJP or Amit Shah and no document proving Mishra was district vice president was filed, the court added.
“BJP with crores of fluctuating, widely spread members is too numerous and unascertainable, hence one district worker cannot maintain defamation complaint for criticism of the party,” the court said.
The court also observed that the statement was made on May 8, 2018, in Bengaluru during the Karnataka assembly elections in answer to a journalist’s question about Amit Shah. Such questioning is essential in a healthy democracy, the court said.
What was the case
The case dates back to May 8, 2018. At a press conference in Bengaluru during the Karnataka assembly election campaign, Rahul Gandhi had allegedly called Amit Shah a “murder accused”, in reference to the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case in which Shah was discharged.
Terming the remark defamatory, Vijay Mishra, the then district vice-president of BJP and former chairman of Sultanpur District Cooperative Bank, filed a complaint before the Sultanpur court on August 4, 2018. Mishra said he was pained as a long-time party worker.
Initially filed in the civil court, the matter was later transferred to the Special MP-MLA Court which deals with cases against legislators.
Timeline of trial
After the preliminary hearing, the court found prima facie evidence and issued summons to Rahul Gandhi on November 27, 2023, under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code (defamation). The maximum punishment for defamation is two years’ imprisonment under Section 500 IPC.
On February 20, 2024, Gandhi surrendered before the court in Sultanpur and was released on bail on two sureties of ₹25,000 each. During his statement, he denied charges and termed it a political conspiracy by the ruling party.
During the full trial, three witnesses were examined to substantiate the case — Vijay Mishra himself, Anil Mishra and Ramchandra Dubey. Rahul Gandhi’s statement was recorded under Section 313 of the CrPC on February 20, 2026.
A major contention was the complainant’s application seeking Rahul Gandhi’s voice sample to match it with video clips of the Bengaluru press conference. The application was filed on March 12, 2026. The trial court rejected it on May 2, 2026, followed by rejection by a sessions court and later by the Allahabad high court.
Faith in judiciary strengthened: Congress
Congress leaders, including state president Aradhana Mishra ‘Mona’, said they have full faith in the judiciary.
“In the defamation case heard in the MP-MLA court in Sultanpur, yet another conspiracy by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been exposed. The honourable court has acquitted the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, and dismissed the case,” Mishra said.
“This marks the exposure of yet another conspiracy by the BJP—a plot built on lies and aimed at defaming him. Today’s verdict has further strengthened the public’s faith in the judiciary,” she added.
Earlier, when Rahul Gandhi arrived at Lucknow airport on the way to Sultanpur, senior Congress leaders, including Aradhna Mishra, deputy leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Pramod Tiwari, former MP PL Punia, the party’s Lucknow district president Rudra Daman Singh, and Congress Legislature Party leader Virendra Chaudhary welcomed him.
Refusing to comment on the court order, BJP chief state spokesperson Dinesh Pratap Singh on Monday said Congress leaders must refrain from commenting on senior political leaders.
“It has become a trend in Congress to use unparliamentary language for BJP leaders. Latest incident is the statement of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on PM Narendra Modi’s father,” Singh said.