Hearing in defamation case against Rahul Gandhi adjourned as witness fails to appear
Sultanpur (PTI) The hearing in the defamation case against Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi was adjourned on Monday after a witness failed to appear in the MP/MLA court here.
The next hearing has been fixed for October 17, case lawyers said.
Rahul Gandhi's counsel, Kashi Prasad Shukla, said the testimony of a witness, Ram Chandra Dubey, was scheduled for Monday. However, the court postponed the proceedings to October 17 as he did not appear.
Advocate Santosh Kumar Pandey, representing the complainant, also confirmed that the court has fixed October 17 as the next date of hearing. The previous hearing in the case took place on September 23.
The case was filed in 2018 by a local BJP politician Vijay Mishra, a resident of Hanumanganj in the Kotwali Dehat area, who alleged that Rahul Gandhi made objectionable remarks during the Karnataka assembly election campaign that year, causing him distress.
After Gandhi failed to appear in the court for several years, a warrant was issued in December 2023. He later surrendered before the court in February 2024, following which the special magistrate granted him bail on two sureties of Rs 25,000 each.
Gandhi, the Rae Bareli MP, recorded his statement before the court on July 26 this year, asserting his innocence and terming the case a "political conspiracy". Subsequently, the court directed the complainant to produce witnesses.
On April 28, the complainant's counsel presented Anil Mishra, a resident of Pitambarpur Kala, as a witness, who was later cross-examined by Gandhi's lawyer, Shukla.
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Rupee falls 9 paise to all-time low of 90.58 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): Rupee depreciated 9 paise to an all-time low of 90.58 against US dollar in early trade on Monday, weighed down by uncertainty over an India-US trade deal and persistent foreign fund outflows.
Forex traders said rupee is trading with a negative bias as investors are in wait and watch mode and awaiting cues from the India-US trade deal front.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 90.53 against the US dollar, then fell further to an all-time intraday low of 90.58 against the greenback, registering a fall of 9 paise over its previous close.
On Friday, the rupee had slipped 17 paise to close at an all-time low of 90.49 against the American currency.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.05 per cent lower at 98.35.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 0.52 per cent at USD 61.44 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex was trading 298.86 points lower at 84,968.80, while the Nifty was down 121.40 points at 25,925.55.
Foreign Institutional Investors sold equities worth Rs 1,114.22 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
"FPIs continue to be in selling mode in equity and debt while RBI has been selling dollars to fund their long positions," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.
