The Bombay High Court has granted interim relief to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, allowing him to be excused from appearing before a Magistrate Court in Mumbai until September 26. The plea hearing was postponed due to the ill-health of both Gandhi’s lawyer and the complainant’s advocates.
Gandhi had approached the Bombay High Court seeking to quash the proceedings against him for his “commander-in-thief” comment against Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a public rally in Rajasthan in 2018. The complainant, a BJP worker from Girgaon, alleged that Gandhi’s comment accused all BJP members and Indian citizens of theft, leading to a defamation suit being filed in the Magistrate Court.
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In his plea before the Bombay High Court, Gandhi argued that as an elected representative, he often faces frivolous and vexatious litigation aimed at furthering political agendas. He claimed that the Magistrate Court’s summons was an attempt to harass him and tarnish his public image.
On the other hand, the complainant asserted that he had presented a strong case against Gandhi, and the Magistrate Court issued the summons after satisfying its merits. He suggested that Gandhi could have pursued a revision application before the Sessions Court instead of directly approaching the High Court with a quashing petition.
The Bombay High Court had previously directed the Magistrate Court to postpone the case’s hearing until the next date of the High Court’s hearing. The latest extension allows Rahul Gandhi to be exempt from appearing before the Magistrate Court until September 26.
