Remarks against Army: SC extends stay on trial court proceedings against Gandhi
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Thursday extended till December 4 its interim order staying proceedings against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a case related to his alleged derogatory remarks against the Indian Army during his 2022 Bharat Jodo Yatra.
A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and Satish Chandra Sharma deferred the hearing in the matter, noting there was a letter circulated for adjournment.
The bench was hearing Gandhi's plea challenging a May 29 order of the Allahabad High Court dismissing his plea challenging the trial court's summoning order in the case.
While hearing Gandhi's plea on August 4, the top court stayed till the next date of hearing further proceedings in the case pending before a court in Lucknow.
"How do you get to know that 2,000 sq km of Indian territory has been occupied by Chinese? Were you there? Do you have any credible material?" the bench had earlier asked Gandhi about his alleged remarks.
"Why do you make these statements without having any material? If you are a true Indian, you won't say such a thing," it added.
The top court had then issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh government and the complainant in the case seeking their responses on Gandhi's plea.
Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Gandhi, had told the apex court that it would be an unfortunate situation if the Leader of Opposition cannot raise issues. He referred to Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and said prior hearing of the accused was mandatory before the court took cognisance of a criminal complaint, which was not done in the present case.
In his plea filed in a court, complainant Udai Shanker Srivastava alleged that Gandhi made several derogatory remarks against the Indian Army in context of the clashes with Chinese soldiers during his December 2022 yatra.
The trial court summoned Gandhi as an accused for facing trial for the alleged offence of defamation. Gandhi's advocate Pranshu Agarwal argued that the allegations appeared to be fabricated, just by reading the complaint.
It was also argued that Gandhi is not a resident of Lucknow. So the trial court should have investigated the veracity of the allegations before summoning him on this complaint, and he should have been summoned only if the allegations were prima facie found to be fit for trial.
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Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge met a high-level delegation from Chile, led by Chilean Foreign Minister Francisco Pérez Mackenna, at Vidhana Soudha on Thursday to discuss collaboration in emerging technologies, clean energy, and startup ecosystems, officials said.
The delegation’s visit to Bengaluru, as part of its India engagements, underscores Karnataka’s growing prominence as a preferred partner for global collaborations in technology, innovation, and startup ecosystems, officials added.
The discussions reflected strong alignment between Chile’s evolving technology-focused growth strategy and Karnataka’s established leadership in innovation and deep-tech ecosystems, according to a statement.
Both sides explored opportunities to build partnerships that move beyond traditional sectors and focus on innovation-led growth, talent exchange, and market access.
The meeting focused on opportunities in renewable energy, including green hydrogen and sustainable industrial innovation.
Other potential areas of collaboration included marine biotechnology, aquaculture technologies, and AI applications across traditional industries.
According to the state IT minister, Karnataka is now a global hub for deep-tech, AI, biotech, aerospace, and advanced research, backed by one of the world’s strongest talent pipelines.
“As partners under the global innovation alliance, we must move beyond agreements on paper to actionable collaboration,” Kharge said.
“We are keen to work with Chile on startup exchanges, market access programmes, and building joint innovation corridors, including R&D centres, incubators, and accelerators. Chile’s position as a gateway to Latin America presents a significant opportunity for our startups to scale globally,” he added.
Officials said the engagement builds on the Letter of Intent signed between the Government of Karnataka and the Government of Chile during the Bengaluru Tech Summit, which established a framework for collaboration in startups, emerging technologies, research, and skill development under the Global Innovation Alliance.
Mackenna, Chile’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, said the country is actively advancing its transition toward a knowledge- and technology-driven economy.
“Our engagement with Karnataka reflects our interest in building strong innovation partnerships that enable technology exchange, talent collaboration, and access to dynamic startup ecosystems,” he added.
“We see significant potential to work together in sectors such as clean energy, digital technologies, and emerging industries, while also strengthening Chile’s role as a bridge between India and Latin America,” he said.
