Ranchi — The Jharkhand High Court on Tuesday granted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi additional time to appear before the Chaibasa court in a defamation case.
Rahul Gandhi is now scheduled to personally appear before the MP-MLA Court in Chaibasa on August 6, instead of the previously set date of June 26. This change follows a non-bailable warrant (NBW) issued against him.
Recently, Gandhi approached the Jharkhand High Court seeking cancellation of the NBW and exemption from physical court appearance.
During the hearing, the court questioned Gandhi’s legal team about his repeated absences. It noted that the Chaibasa court had earlier issued summons that were ignored, leading to the issuance of an NBW in February 2024.
Gandhi’s counsel explained that the leader had prior commitments on June 26 and requested a deferment of his court appearance.
While the High Court ruled that the NBW could not be canceled, it accepted the request for an extension and directed Gandhi to appear in court on August 6.
The case originated from a complaint filed on July 9, 2018, by Pratap Katiyar of Chaibasa. The complaint relates to a statement allegedly made by Rahul Gandhi during a Congress party meeting in 2018, where he reportedly said that “no murderer can become the national President of Congress” and that “this is possible only in the BJP,” referring to Amit Shah, who was then BJP’s national President.
The complainant alleged that these remarks were defamatory and sought legal action. In April 2022, the Chaibasa court issued a bailable warrant after Gandhi failed to respond. Due to his continued absence, a non-bailable warrant was issued in February 2024.
With inputs from IANS