Supreme Court Stays Defamation Case Against Rahul Gandhi

NEW DELHI: In a significant development, the Supreme Court of India had temporarily imposed a stay on criminal defamation proceedings against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, upon a complaint lodged by BJP worker Navin Jha.

The statements made by Gandhi allegedly branded Amit Shah as a "murderer" during a public rally in Chaibasa, Jharkhand, during the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The Jharkhand High Court's earlier ruling to uphold the defamation charges was challenged by Gandhi in his special leave petition (SLP), which was considered by a two-judge panel made up of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta. 

The complaint was initiated by Jha in response to Gandhi’s statements, which were initially dismissed by a Ranchi magistrate. But Jha appealed successfully and the Judicial Commissioner in Ranchi on September 15, 2018 quashed the dismissal and ordered re-assessment of evidence.

The outcome was the summons issued against Gandhi under Section 500 of the IPC for criminal defamation.

Gandhi’s appeal to the Jharkhand High Court was rejected by Justice Ambuj Nath, who deemed the remarks “prima facie defamatory” under Section 499 of the IPC, noting their focus on BJP leaders and Amit Shah’s legal history.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who is representing Gandhi, contended that only those persons whose reputations have been allegedly affected by the remarks can file defamation complaints.

The Supreme Court's stay provides Gandhi with temporary reprieve since the court allows four weeks for responses from Jha and the Jharkhand government.

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