Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has approached the Bombay High Court seeking quashing of the summons issued to him by a local magistrate in a defamation complaint filed against him in 2019 by a member of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Gandhi has also sought a stay on the proceedings before the magistrate till the HC decides on the quashing of summons plea. On August 28, 2019, Metropolitan Magistrate Court at Girgaon had initiated criminal proceedings against Gandhi and issued summons directing him to remain personally present in the court. The complaint was filed by one Mahesh Shrishrimal who claimed to be a member of the BJP.

Gandhi’s plea before the HC states that he was not aware of the complaint before July 12, 2021, when he received the summons from the local court.

According to the complaint, in September 2018, Gandhi had conducted a rally in Rajasthan. During the said rally, he made defamatory statements against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Due to this, Modi was allegedly trolled on media by various news channels and social media platforms.

The complaint further claimed that four days after that, Gandhi purportedly commented on a video that was posted on social media. He then posted the same video on his personal Twitter account with more defamatory comments.

The complainant alleged that Gandhi's defamatory statements against Modi made direct allegations against all members of BJP and Indian citizens connected to Modi.

In his plea before the HC, filed through advocate Kushal Mor, Gandhi has said that the complaint was a “classic example” of a “frivolous and vexatious litigation” motivated by the sole purpose of furthering the complainant's latent political agenda.

He has further contended that the order of summons was of a mechanical nature and did not contain any reasoning which is required for issuing process against a person.

Besides, challenging the complainant’s locus to file the complaint, Gandhi’s plea states that defamation proceedings can be initiated only by the person who has been defamed. The HC has kept the matter for hearing on November 22.

ALSO READ

FPJ Legal: Businessman Raj Kundra's anticipatory bail hearing adjourned for November 22 in...