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Congress person and Leader of Opposition (LoP) successful the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi did not look earlier the MP-MLA tribunal successful Sultanpur connected Monday (January 19, 2026) in transportation with a defamation lawsuit against him, pursuing which the tribunal fixed February 20 arsenic the adjacent day of hearing, a lawsuit lawyer said.
Mr. Gandhi, the Raebareli MP, was scheduled to grounds his connection earlier the court. However, his counsel Kashi Prasad Shukla informed the tribunal that the Congress person could not beryllium contiguous arsenic helium was successful Kerala.
Taking enactment of the submission, MP-MLA tribunal justice Shubham Verma granted Mr. Gandhi a last accidental to look successful idiosyncratic and fixed February 20 for further proceedings, helium said.
Mr. Shukla aboriginal told reporters that Mr. Gandhi was incapable to be the proceeding owed to a pre-engagement successful Kerala and was apt to beryllium contiguous connected the adjacent date.
The defamation lawsuit was filed successful October 2018 by section BJP functionary Vijay Mishra, a nonmigratory of Hanumanganj successful Kotwali Dehat country of Sultanpur district. Mr. Mishra alleged that during predetermination campaigning successful Karnataka successful August 2018, Mr. Gandhi had made objectionable remarks against past BJP president Amit Shah.
Court proceedings successful the lawsuit person been underway for respective years. In December 2023, a warrant was issued against Mr. Gandhi for non-appearance. He aboriginal surrendered earlier the tribunal connected February 20, 2024, erstwhile a peculiar magistrate granted him bail connected 2 bonds of ₹25,000 each.
On July 26, 2024, Mr. Gandhi recorded his connection earlier the court, denied the allegations and described the lawsuit arsenic politically motivated. After his statement, the tribunal directed the complainant’s broadside to contiguous evidence, pursuing which witnesses person been examined.
Complainant’s counsel Santosh Kumar Pandey said that witnesser Ram Chandra Dubey was examined connected January 6 and cross-examined by the defence. He added that Mr. Gandhi would present beryllium required to look personally for signaling of his connection nether Section 313 of the CrPC connected the adjacent day of hearing.
