Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday received major relief from the Jharkhand High Court after it set aside the cognizance and charge-framing orders issued by the Chaibasa civil court in a defamation case related to alleged remarks against BJP leader Amit Shah.
The order was passed by Justice Anil Kumar Choudhary, who quashed the lower court’s directives and remanded the matter for reconsideration. Gandhi’s counsel, Deepankar Roy, confirmed that the High Court, after hearing both sides, nullified the earlier order. Advocate Gautam Rakesh represented the petitioner in the case.
The defamation complaint was filed by Chaibasa BJP leader Pratap Kumar Katiyar over alleged derogatory comments made by Gandhi against Amit Shah. The complaint was initially dismissed by the senior magistrate, prompting the complainant to move the Sessions Court through a criminal revision petition. The Sessions Court later allowed the revision, took cognizance of the matter, and issued a summons to Gandhi.
Rahul Gandhi had personally appeared before the Chaibasa court on August 6, where he was granted conditional bail after arguments were heard from both sides. Earlier, on June 2, he had approached the High Court challenging the special court’s directive requiring him to appear on June 26. His counsel had informed the High Court that Gandhi would be unable to attend on that date and requested an extension, which the court accepted, allowing his appearance after August 6.
With Thursday’s order, the Jharkhand High Court has effectively nullified the lower court’s proceedings, providing substantial legal relief to the Congress leader in the defamation case stemming from his remarks against Amit Shah.