Defamation case: Lucknow court grants bail to Rahul Gandhi

Lucknow: A Lucknow court granted Congress MP Rahul Gandhi bail on Tuesday afternoon after he surrendered in a criminal defamation case related to his controversial comments on the Indian Army. The case stems from remarks he made during his ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, which a former army official claimed were misleading and damaging to the morale of Indian soldiers.

The surrender and bail proceedings took place at the MP-MLA court, where Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Alok Verma granted bail to Gandhi on two surety bonds of Rs 20,000 each. Gandhi’s legal team submitted the bail application shortly after his appearance, which the court accepted. He remained in the courtroom for around 30 minutes.

The Congress leader flew from Delhi to Lucknow and drove straight to the court, complying with a summons issued after he failed to appear in five previous hearings. The court had rejected a plea for exemption from personal appearance filed by his lawyer, Pranshu Agrawal, making Tuesday’s physical presence mandatory.

After securing bail, Gandhi left the premises and returned to Amausi Airport.

Outside the court, a brief standoff occurred when the convoy of senior Congress leaders, including Rajya Sabha MP Pramod Tiwari and MLA Aradhana Mishra, was stopped by the police. Following a brief exchange, both leaders walked into the court on foot.

The defamation complaint was filed in August 2023 by retired Border Roads Organisation (BRO) Director Uday Shankar Srivastava. The case concerns a speech Gandhi delivered on December 16, 2022, in which he referred to a clash between Indian and Chinese troops on December 9. Gandhi had claimed that “Chinese soldiers were beating up Indian soldiers,” a remark the complainant alleged was factually incorrect and harmful to the reputation and morale of the Indian Army.

Srivastava argued that the statement misrepresented the actual incident and hurt the sentiments of soldiers’ families.

He emphasised that the Indian Army had officially stated on December 12, 2022, that Indian troops had effectively repelled a Chinese incursion attempt, and both sides had suffered only minor injuries.

The case has sparked renewed discussions on the boundaries of political speech and accountability. While Gandhi has maintained that his intention was not to undermine the armed forces, the legal process will continue as the court proceeds with the matter.