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Varanasi court rejects plea seeking FIR against Rahul Gandhi over his UK speech
Amid row over Surat court's recent judgement, a local court in Varanasi has rejected a plea seeking FIR against the Congress leader for his speech at Cambridge University.
A local court in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi on Thursday rejected a plea seeking an FIR against Congress MP Rahul Gandhi over his speech he made at the Cambridge University during his recent visit to the UK. According to LiveLaw, the plea was moved by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shashank Shekhar Tripathi alleging that the Congress leader made statements at the University that were ‘divisive and against the spirit of the Constitution of Indai’ and that they were ‘against the unity and sovereinity of India’.
Also read: 'Surat court asked him again and again… He refused': Minister on Rahul Gandhi
This comes amid the ongoing row over a verdict given by another local court in Gujarat's Surat against Gandhi over a defamation case for his ‘all thieves have Modi as the common surname’ remark. He was sentenced to two years in jail, however, the verdict has been suspended for 30 days, on request of his legal team, to give him a chance to appeal the guilty verdict.
The Varanasi court's case is related to Gandhi's lecture at the UK's university where he talked about Indian democracy. He also raised issues over several politicians, including himself, being under surveillance and discussed the use of Israeli-made spyware. The BJP leader sought a first information report against the Congress leader under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
However, the court observed that Gandhi's alleged statements in his lecture did not exceed the prescribed limits of the right to freedon and expression.
