UP court grants bail to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in 2018 defamation case

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was granted bail by the Sultanpur Court in a 2018 defamation case on Tuesday. The court had summoned Gandhi before his 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' entered Amethi, his former Lok Sabha constituency.

Jairam Ramesh, the Congress General Secretary in charge of communications, stated that the yatra would be briefly paused due to the summons issued to Gandhi by the District Civil Court in Sultanpur. The defamation case was filed by a BJP leader in August 2018.

Today marks the 38th day of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, which is set to begin at 2 pm from Fursantganj, Amethi district, and proceed towards Raebareli and Lucknow. This morning, @RahulGandhi is due to appear at the District Civil Court in Sultanpur, responding to a summons issued 36 hours prior in a defamation case filed by a BJP leader in August 2018, as per a post by Ramesh on X. 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra will not be derailed. Rahul Gandhi will not be silenced. The Indian National Congress will not be intimidated,' he further stated.

In related news, Union Minister Smriti Irani claimed on Monday that deserted streets greeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi upon his arrival in Amethi as part of his Yatra. She also challenged him to contest alone from Amethi in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Both Rahul Gandhi and Smriti Irani were present in the Amethi parliamentary constituency, where the latter defeated the former in the 2019 elections. Gandhi is currently the MP from Kerala's Wayanad.

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