Ranchi: The Jharkhand High Court has dismissed a petition filed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi seeking to quash proceedings against him in a subordinate court in connection with a criminal complaint. The case was filed against Gandhi in 2019 by BJP worker Naveen Jha for his alleged defamatory remarks against Union Home Minister Amit Shah. High Court Judge Justice Ambuj Nath dismissed Rahul's petition on Wednesday, though the order was shared on the court's website on Friday.
Rahul Gandhi had challenged the decision of the magistrate court in the High Court.
The court had directed Rahul Gandhi to appear in person in court in connection with the case, following which he had approached the High Court.
The court had also issued a notice to the complainant, Jha, to appear in connection with the case.
Gandhi had allegedly called Shah a murderer at a public rally in Chaibasa before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
High Court had stayed the order
After recording the statements of the complainant and the witnesses, Magistrate Anamika Kisku found merit in the case against Rahul Gandhi and directed him to appear before the subordinate court on February 4. The High Court, however, later stayed the notice issued by the Magistrate and ordered that no coercive action be taken against Rahul Gandhi.
The bench further said, "Prima facie, this statement shows that Rahul Gandhi has accused the BJP leadership of being intoxicated by power and of being made up of liars. This means that the BJP party workers will accept such a person or persons as their leader. This allegation is prima facie defamatory in nature."
In this case related to the current Home Minister, Amit Shah, Rahul Gandhi said that a murderer cannot become the national president of Congress. It can only happen in the BJP. A complaint was filed in the Ranchi Civil Court regarding this statement. The second and third cases were related to the same statement of Rahul Gandhi, in which he said in the Delhi convention of Congress that "no murderer can become the national president in Congress; only a murderer can become the national president in the BJP." Cases were registered in many places across the country regarding this statement by Rahul Gandhi. Two cases were also registered in Jharkhand, in Chaibasa and Ranchi, regarding the complaint.
It may be noted that a total of three judicial cases are going on against Rahul Gandhi in Jharkhand, one of which is from the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, when Rahul Gandhi said that "all Modis are thieves." In this case, the complainant, Pradeep Modi, had filed a case in court. Rahul Gandhi had also filed a quashing petition in the Jharkhand High Court in the Modi comment case. But the court dismissed the petition after hearing it, and now the trial is going on in the lower court in this case as well.
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