CNN Central News & Network-ITDC India Epress/ITDC News Bhopal: The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to pass an immediate order on a request for an early hearing in the criminal defamation case linked to Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi. However, a bench headed by Chief Justice Justice Surya Kant asked the complainant to file an application for early hearing under the prescribed procedure. The bench also included Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana.
During the hearing, senior advocate Gaurav Bhatia, appearing for the complainant, said Rahul Gandhi is not a VVIP in this case and that his petition has not been listed for nearly five months. He sought an early hearing by separating the matter from other petitions. In response, the CJI made it clear that all are equal before the court and that a proper application should be filed for an early hearing.
The case relates to Rahul Gandhi’s 2022 remark concerning the Indian Army in the context of a clash between Indian and Chinese soldiers in Arunachal Pradesh. Defamation proceedings were initiated in a Lucknow court on the complaint of former BRO officer Uday Shankar Srivastava. Rahul Gandhi later challenged the Allahabad High Court order in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has already stayed the proceedings.
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