Defamation case: Lucknow court grants bail to Rahul Gandhi
LUCKNOW: Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Tuesday appeared before the MP/MLA Special Magistrate Court in Lucknow in connection with a case related to allegedly defamatory statements made by him against the Indian Armed Forces during his Bharat Jodo Yatra in 2022.
The Leader of Opposition surrendered in court, and Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Alok Verma granted him bail after allowing his application.
Rahul Gandhi was allowed to leave after furnishing two personal bail bonds of ₹20,000 each and providing two sureties of the same amount, as directed by the court, for seeking bail after remaining absent during the last five hearings in the case.
The court will now proceed further in the case on the next hearing scheduled for August 13.
Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi appeared in a jam-packed courtroom. He was, therefore, taken directly to the judge's chamber where all formalities related to the bonds and sureties were completed.
Rahul’s counsel, Advocate Pranshu Agrawal, pleaded the innocence of the Leader of Opposition, claiming that no offence was made out against him. Rahul Gandhi’s lawyer had earlier requested an exemption from personal appearance, but the court insisted on his presence.
On the other hand, the counsel for the complainant argued that Gandhi had allegedly hurt the dignity and respect of the Indian Army and attempted to lower its morale, and therefore, he should not be granted bail.
Rahul Gandhi appeared in the Lucknow MP/MLA court following the rejection of his plea by the Allahabad High Court in May this year, in which he had challenged both the defamation case and the summoning order passed by the Lucknow MP/MLA court in February 2025.
Dismissing his plea, the Allahabad High Court observed that freedom of speech and expression does not include the liberty to make statements which are defamatory to the Indian Army.
A bench of Justice Subhash Vidyarthi noted: "No doubt, Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India guarantees freedom of speech and expression, this freedom is subject to reasonable restrictions and it does not include the freedom to make statements which are defamatory to any person or defamatory to the Indian Army."
It may be mentioned here that the defamation complaint was filed by former Border Roads Organisation (BRO) Director Uday Shankar Srivastava. He stated that the alleged derogatory remarks by Rahul Gandhi were made on 16 December 2022 during his Bharat Jodo Yatra.
The complainant added that Gandhi's objectionable comments, pertaining to a clash between the Indian and Chinese armies on 9 December 2022, had defamed the Indian Army. It was specifically alleged that Rahul Gandhi repeatedly stated in a very derogatory manner that the Chinese army was 'thrashing' Indian soldiers in Arunachal Pradesh and that the Indian press would not ask any questions in that regard.
Gandhi was represented by Advocates Pranshu Agrawal, Mohd Yasir Abbasi, and Mohammed Samar Ansari.
On 11 February 2025, the special court, after hearing the complaint, ordered Rahul Gandhi to be summoned on charges of defamation.