An MP/MLA court in Sultanpur on Saturday rejected a plea seeking voice sample of Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case linked to his alleged objectionable remark against Union home minister Amit Shah, and and posted the matter for next hearing on May 11.
Judicial magistrate Shubham Verma of the special MP/MLA court dismissed the application filed by complainant and BJP leader Vijay Mishra, who had sought forensic examination of Gandhi’s voice through a laboratory. The court also directed Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Rae Bareli MP, to furnish a bail bond.
In its order, the court observed that there was no requirement for voice sample matching as Gandhi had not denied that the voice in the CD submitted before it was his.
The case pertains to an alleged remark made by Gandhi in Bengaluru in 2018, in which he reportedly made the alleged remark. The defamation complaint was filed on August 4, 2018, by Mishra, a former chairman of the District Cooperative Bank.
The court had summoned Gandhi to face trial on November 27, 2023. He appeared before the court on February 20, 2024, when he was granted bail. His statement in the case was recorded on February 20, 2026.
{{/usCountry}}The court had summoned Gandhi to face trial on November 27, 2023. He appeared before the court on February 20, 2024, when he was granted bail. His statement in the case was recorded on February 20, 2026.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier, on March 12, advocate Santosh Pandey, representing the complainant, had moved the application seeking voice sample matching. The plea was opposed by Gandhi’s counsel, Kashi Prasad Shukla. After hearing both sides on April 22, the court had reserved its order.
Following the ruling, Pandey said the order would be examined and challenged before a sessions court. Gandhi’s counsel, meanwhile, described the order as legally sound.