Gauri Lankesh Murder: Rahul Gandhi files plea in Bombay HC to quash defamation case over remarks against RSS

Rahul Gandhi/PTI

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has approached the Bombay High Court to request the dismissal of a defamation complaint filed against him. This complaint is related to his statements that allegedly linked the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to the 2017 murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh, stated a report in PTI.

In his petition, Rahul Gandhi argued that his case should not be combined with the one filed against Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury. This is because the statements in question were made on different occasions, and the two leaders belong to distinct political parties with different or even opposing ideologies.

Justice SV Kotwal has scheduled the hearing for this plea on December 5, the report further stated.

According to the report, the legal issue originated when lawyer Dhrutiman Joshi filed a private complaint in 2017 against Rahul Gandhi, his mother Sonia Gandhi, and Yechury. The complaint sought action against them for alleged defamation under Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

In 2019, the magistrate's court dismissed the case against Sonia Gandhi but issued a notice to Rahul Gandhi and Yechury. Subsequently, both of them applied to dismiss the complaint, arguing against a joint trial. However, the magistrate's court rejected their application, prompting Rahul Gandhi to approach the Bombay High Court in August this year.

Rahul Gandhi's petition highlights the ideological differences between him and Yechury, as they represent different political parties with distinct or even opposing ideologies. The plea asserts that their statements were independent and made by different individuals at different times, without any shared purpose, continuity of action, or connection between their acts.

Rahul Gandhi has faced numerous defamation cases throughout the country, with a conviction by a Surat court earlier this year. However, the Supreme Court eventually stayed the conviction.

The case relates to the murder of Gauri Lankesh, a journalist and activist based in Bengaluru, who was killed outside her home on September 5, 2017, allegedly by right-wing extremists.