A court in Sultanpur acquitted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a 2018 defamation case today. Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Shubham Verma ruled that Gandhi’s remarks against Amit Shah were not defamatory. The complainant lacked legal standing, so the judge found him not guilty. Gandhi appeared in court to hear the verdict.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was acquitted by a Court in Uttar Pradesh's Sultanpur in a 2018 defamation case over his remarks against the then BJP President Amit Shah as an accused in the extrajudicial killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh. Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Shubham Verma pronounced Rahul Gandhi "not guilty" in his presence, ruling that the statement made by Gandhi was not defamatory in nature and the complainant lacked the legal standing of an aggrieved party.
Rahul Gandhi, in a statement made during the Karnataka elections, had referred to Shah as a murder accused, questioning the party's claim of clean and honest politics.
"People in India forget that the president of BJP is a murder accused. That's the truth. The party that talks about honesty, decency, has a person who has been accused of murder as president."
Gandhi was referring to BJP President Amit Shah, who was accused and arrested in the fake encounter of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and spent three months in jail in Gujarat. He was then discharged from the case by a special CBI court in December 2014 due to lack of prosecutable evidence.
In response to Gandhi's remarks, then BJP District Vice President, Vijay Mishra filed a criminal defamation case under Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code. Senior Advocate RS Cheema, with advocates Kashi Shukla, Tarannum Cheema, Prasanna S and Akash Singh, represented Gandhi.
Gandhi had appeared before the court in 2023 and secured bail. In 2023, Gandhi was convicted and sentenced to two years' imprisonment by a Gujarat court for his "all thieves have Modi surname" remark. The trial court suspended the prison sentence for 30 days and granted him bail so he could challenge the decision in higher courts. Gandhi was also disqualified from the Lok Sabha; he was then a Member of Parliament from Wayanad. The conviction was stayed by the Supreme Court, and the interim order reinstated him into the Lok Sabha.