‘Rahul’s plea against defamation complaint raises legal issues’

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday sought assistance of Maharashtra’s Advocate General on the legal issues involved in a petition filed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi challenging the defamation proceedings initiated against him by a magistrate’s court over his alleged remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Mahesh Shrishrimal, who claims to be a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker, has filed a defamation complaint over Rahul Gandhi’s “commander-in-thief” remark about prime minister Modi in 2018.

After Gandhi challenged the lower court’s summons, the high court, in November 2021, directed the magistrate to defer the hearing. Since then, the hearing on Gandhi’s petition before the high court has been adjourned from time to time and the interim relief granted to him (deferment of proceedings before the magistrate) was also extended.

Hearing Gandhi’s petition on Tuesday, Justice S V Kotwal of the high court noted that it raises some “important questions of law.”

“Therefore, I deem it necessary to request the advocate general of Maharashtra to address the court on all the legal issues involved in this case,” he said.