A court in Uttar Pradesh's Sultanpur is set to deliver its verdict on Monday, October 26, in a defamation case against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his alleged objectionable remarks against then-BJP president, and current Union Home Minister, Amit Shah in 2018.
The Raebareli MP, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, is required to appear in person before the Special MP-MLA court for the pronouncement of the judgment, complainant's counsel Santosh Kumar Pandey told news agency PTI.
Additional Civil Judge Shubham Verma had earlier scheduled the verdict for October 13.
Sultanpur Superintendent of Police (SP) Vineet Jaiswal said Gandhi is expected to travel by road from Lucknow to Sultanpur and arrive by 10 am, as per his scheduled itinerary.
The police official said adequate police personnel would be deployed on the court premises to ensure security.
The case stems from alleged objectionable remarks Gandhi made about Shah at a campaign rally in Bengaluru ahead of the 2018 Karnataka Assembly elections.
BJP leader Vijay Mishra, a former chairman of the Sultanpur District Cooperative Bank, filed the defamation case against the Congress leader on August 4, 2018.
TIMELINE OF THE DEFAMATION CASE
May 8, 2018: Rahul Gandhi allegedly made objectionable remarks against Amit Shah during the Karnataka election campaign.
August 4, 2018: A complaint is lodged against Gandhi in court.
November 27, 2023: The court summons Gandhi and issues a warrant against him.
February 20, 2024: Gandhi surrenders before the court and is released on bail.
July 26, 2024: Gandhi's statement is recorded in court.
October 9, 2024: The testimony of the complainant and BJP leader, Vijay Mishra, is recorded.
February 28, 2025: The testimony of the complainant's witness, Anil Mishra, is recorded.
December 8, 2025: The testimony of another witness, Ramchandra Dubey, is recorded.
February 20, 2026: Gandhi's statement is recorded under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
March 12, 2026: An application seeking to match Gandhi's voice sample is filed before a court.
May 2, 2026: Additional Civil Judge Shubham Verma rejects the application seeking to match Gandhi's voice sample.
May 21, 2026: A revision petition is filed before the Sessions Court challenging the Additional Civil Judge's rejection of the application to match Gandhi's voice sample.
July 15, 2026: The Additional District Judge (ADJ) court dismisses the revision petition challenging the Additional Civil Judge's rejection of the voice sample matching application.
September 10, 2026: Justice Subhash Vidyarthi of the High Court dismisses the revision petition challenging the rejection of the voice sample matching application by the district court.
October 6, 2026: Arguments begin in the complaint filed against Gandhi.
October 12, 2026: Arguments continue in the complaint filed against Gandhi.
October 12, 2026: Hearing in Gandhi's case concludes.
October 26, 2026: The court is scheduled to deliver its verdict in the case.
- Ends
(With inputs from PTI)