Maharashtra, Bhiwandi, Feb 21: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi appeared in a Bhiwandi court on Saturday in a defamation case stemming from remarks he made at a 2014 election rally. Gandhi had said, “The RSS shot Mahatma Gandhi, and now they are using his name to campaign for elections,” prompting a criminal complaint from local Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) member Rajesh Kunte, who alleged the statement harmed the organisation’s reputation.
The hearing on Saturday was largely procedural. Gandhi was required to sign a fresh bond and provide a new guarantor following the death of his earlier surety, Shivraj Patil. His lawyer, Advocate Narayan Iyer, explained that the fresh surety was necessary due to Patil’s passing. The court is expected to focus solely on accepting the new guarantor, with no cross examination anticipated during this session.
The defamation case has been in legal proceedings since 2014. In 2016, the Supreme Court allowed the trial to proceed and granted Gandhi bail, noting that the trial would determine if his remarks constituted defamation. Currently, the case is in the evidence stage. One complainant witness, Rajesh Kunte, and investigator Ashok Saikar have been examined, while Saikar’s cross-examination under Section 202 of the Criminal Procedure Code remains pending.
A day earlier, Gandhi appeared before an MP/MLA court in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, for another defamation case linked to remarks about Union Home Minister Amit Shah. He described that case as filed out of “political malice,” and the hearing lasted about 20 minutes. The next date for that case is scheduled for March 9.