7 months ago
2
In a alleviation to Congress person Rahul Gandhi, the Gauhati High Court has quashed a little tribunal bid allowing further witnesses against the Lok Sabha MP successful a nine-year-old transgression defamation lawsuit filed by 1 RSS worker.
Issuing an bid successful a transgression revision petition, a azygous justice Bench of Arun Dev Choudhury connected Monday (October 13, 2025) acceptable speech the bid by the further sessions justice of Kamrup Metropolitan allowing much witnesses successful the defamation case, which was being heard successful a proceedings court.
In a transgression defamation petition by RSS idiosyncratic Anjan Kumar Bora, the proceedings tribunal magistrate, successful March 2023, disallowed the listing of 3 further witnesses aft completion of the process with the signaling of statements from six witnesses.
Mr. Bora had challenged this, and the further sessions justice of Kamrup Metropolitan had, successful September, allowed admittance of the caller witnesses against Mr. Gandhi.
The person of the opposition, represented by Senior Advocate Angshuman Bora, challenged this bid successful the Gauhati High Court successful July 2024.
After a bid of hearings, the tribunal dismissed the further sessions judge's bid and asked the proceedings tribunal to dispose of the lawsuit expeditiously.
"...in the considered sentiment of the court, successful the contiguous case, the exertion filed earlier the magistrate was wholly vague and bereft of particulars. Therefore, the magistrate had rightly declined the prayer," Justice Choudhury said successful his order.
The revisional court, however, without taking enactment of the lack of immoderate substantive crushed oregon signaling immoderate uncovering of the necessity of specified witnesses, "mechanically interfered with the reasoned bid of the magistrate", helium added.
"The revisional powerfulness is constricted to correcting jurisdictional oregon procedural error, and it does not empower the league tribunal to substitute its ain discretion for that of the magistrate successful the lack of immoderate manifest illegality.
"The learned further sessions justice did not see that the instauration was not laid successful the petition seeking the summoning of the witnesses, adjacent to get astatine the restitution required," the HC bid noted.
It further said that the further sessions justice "ignored the settled proposition of instrumentality arsenic discussed and recorded during the case", portion allowing the revision petition by reversing the bid of the magistrate.
"Such is an arbitrary workout of discretion, resulting successful patent illegality, which cannot beryllium allowed to stand. Accordingly, the impugned bid dated 22.09.2023 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge No. 2, Kamrup (M), Guwahati successful Criminal Revision No. 26/2023 stands acceptable speech and quashed," the Gauhati HC said.
Justice Choudhury, successful his order, besides instructed that arsenic the petitioner (Gandhi) is simply a sitting Member of Parliament, the proceedings tribunal magistrate shall instrumentality measures to expeditiously dispose of the case, which has been going connected since 2016.
On December 12, 2015, Mr. Gandhi had intended to sojourn Barpeta Satra (Vaishnavite monastery), but aboriginal claimed that helium was barred from entering the abbey by the workers of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Aggrieved by this, RSS idiosyncratic Mr. Bora filed the transgression defamation case, alleging that the Congress person had made mendacious statements.
