Rahul Gandhi In Sultanpur Court: 7 Point Explainer About Defamation Case

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, currently leading the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, took a pause from the march to appear before the MP/MLA court on Tuesday in connection with a defamation case. This is just one of several legal cases Rahul Gandhi is facing, with other notable cases involving the 'Modi Surname'. The hearing pertains to a defamation case filed in 2018, for allegedly making derogatory remarks against the current Home Minister, Amit Shah, who was the national president of the BJP at that time. Here are 10 key points:

1. In a 2018 press conference, Gandhi was talking about an accusation against Shah in his alleged role in the extra-judicial killing of a criminal named Sohrabuddin Sheikh in 2005. He said, “Amit Shah has been accused of murder, right? The Supreme Court has mentioned the (judge) Loya case. So I don't think Amit Shah has a lot of credibility,” Gandhi said to the reporters.
2. Vijay Mishra, the BJP’s district vice president at the time of the reported incident, initiated the legal proceedings against Gandhi. He supported his allegations by saying the accusation by Gandhi made him feel pain as a 33-year-old party worker.
3. The case was filed in the District and Sessions Court of MP-MLA Court Sultanpur on August 4, 2018, following Rahul Gandhi's statement during the Karnataka elections in Bengaluru. Judge Yogesh Kumar Yadav has issued several summons, including the one on Tuesday that saw the presence of Rahul Gandhi.
4. A warrant against Gandhi was issued by the court on December 16, last year, leading to the upcoming court appearance. Gandhi's previous participation in this case was on January 18, when Kashi Prasad Shukla represented him for the first time.  
5. During that appearance, Shukla informed the court that Gandhi was involved in the 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' journey between Nagaland and Assam. Shukla cited the lack of timely information and prior commitments as the reasons for Gandhi's inability to attend earlier sessions.    
6. A special court of the Central Bureau of Investigation gave BJP president Amit Shah a clean chit in the murder cases in which Gandhi accused him of being involved. The court, under special judge MB Gosavi, said there was not enough evidence against Shah to put him on trial. 
7. The case involved the extra judicial killings of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, his wife Kauserbi, and murder witness Tulsiram Prajapati, who were all killed in fake encounters in 2005 and 2006.