Sultanpur: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was acquitted by a special MP/MLA court in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, on Monday in a defamation case filed over comments he allegedly made about BJP leader Amit Shah during the 2018 Karnataka election campaign.
The case originated from a rally in Bengaluru, where Gandhi was accused of making objectionable remarks about Shah, who was then the BJP president. The complaint was filed by Vijay Mishra, a BJP leader and former chairman of the District Cooperative Bank in Sultanpur, on August 4, 2018.
The court delivered its verdict on October 26 after the date for the judgment was rescheduled. Additional Civil Judge Shubham Verma had initially fixed October 13 for the announcement before the date was moved.
Complaint filed during Karnataka poll campaign
The allegations against Gandhi were linked to political remarks made during the run-up to the Karnataka Assembly elections in 2018. Mishra subsequently approached the court, claiming the comments amounted to defamation.
Gandhi appeared before the court in 2023 and obtained bail while the case proceeded through the judicial process.
With the latest ruling, the court has acquitted the Congress leader in the matter. The case had been pending since the complaint was lodged nearly eight years ago.
