The hearing in the defamation case filed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been postponed to June 18. The MP-MLA court in question deferred the proceedings due to the recent death of a lawyer, necessitating a condolence meeting in the court on Friday.
Gandhi's lawyer, Kashi Prasad Shukla, confirmed the postponement, explaining that the court's decision was influenced by the unfortunate event. Earlier, Gandhi had appeared in court in February regarding this defamation case and was granted bail. The complaint against Gandhi was lodged by BJP leader Vijay Mishra.
The case stems from remarks made by Rahul Gandhi during a press conference in Bengaluru in May 2018, amidst the Karnataka elections. Gandhi had criticized the BJP and specifically referred to Shah, then BJP president, in connection with a murder case. This led to a defamation complaint being filed against Gandhi on August 4, 2018.
In response to Gandhi's comments, the complainant highlighted that despite Shah being accused in a murder case, the BJP still claimed to uphold honest and clean politics. It's worth noting that four years prior to Gandhi's statement, a special CBI court in Mumbai had cleared Shah of charges in a 2005 fake encounter case. At that time, Shah was serving as the Minister of State for Home in Gujarat.
Last December, a warrant was issued against Rahul Gandhi for failing to appear in court regarding this matter. He subsequently paused his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Amethi to appear in court on February 20, where he secured bail.
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