HC directs trial court to defer hearing of defamation case against Rahul Gandhi

Shrishimal has lodged a complaint against Gandhi for making allegedly derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a rally in Rajasthan in 2018.

Mumbai: The Bombay high court has directed the trial court to defer the hearing of the defamation complaint by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Mahesh Shrishimal against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi beyond July 28 and continued the interim protection granted to Gandhi in December 2021 till the next hearing. Gandhi approached the HC seeking quashing of the process issued by the magistrate court seeking his presence in the hearing of the complaint.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi (Hindustan Times)

Shrishimal has lodged a complaint against Gandhi for making allegedly derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a rally in Rajasthan in 2018.

When the case came up for hearing before the single judge bench of justice P D Naik, it was informed that advocate Sudeep Pasbola who was to argue the quashing petition on behalf of Gandhi was not available and hence an adjournment should be granted. The bench accepted the same and at the request of the counsel extended the interim protection till July 28.

On the insistence of the counsel, the bench also directed that the trial court should not go ahead with the hearing of the defamation complaint till the next date of hearing by the HC.

Gandhi had filed a petition in the HC seeking quashing of the order of the Girgaum metropolitan magistrate court which has asked him to appear in person in the defamation complaint filed by Shrishimal.

Gandhi has stated in his petition that the complainant is not directly affected by the alleged defamatory statement made by him in 2018 and as the complainant is attempting to further his political aspirations by lodging the complaint. In light of this, the order of the magistrate should be set aside.

In a previous hearing advocate Kushal Mor for Gandhi had submitted that the complaint by Shrishimal was vexatious, baseless, unmeritorious and misconceived. The petition states that the complaint is nothing but a vehicle to drive the complainant’s own political agenda to tarnish the public image of the petitioner.

According to the complaint, during a rally held in Rajasthan in September 2018, Gandhi had made a defamatory statement against PM Modi which resulted in various news channels and social media platforms trolling the PM. The complaint also stated that Gandhi had purportedly posted a tweet and given a statement wherein he referred to the PM as “commander in thief” which was defamatory and made a “direct allegation of theft against BJP members and Indian citizens connected to Modi.”

The petition states that he (Gandhi) became aware of the magistrate’s order after receiving a summons on July 12, 2021. Terming the magistrate’s order as mechanical in nature and without any minimum reasoning required for the issuing process, Gandhi stated that the complainant lacked locus standi (standing) to file the complaint as a defamation complaint can only be initiated by the person defamed.

In light of the above, the petition states that the present case comes under the exceptions to section 499 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and hence the magistrate order should be quashed and till the current petition was heard, all further proceedings arising out of the order before the magistrate court be stayed.