Sultanpur special judge on leave, hearing not held in defamation case against Rahul Gandhi
Sultanpur (UP) (PTI): Hearing in a defamation case involving senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi could not be held in the MP-MLA court in Sultanpur on Monday as the special judge was on leave.
Gandhi's advocate Kashi Prasad Shukla said as Special Judge Shubham Verma was on leave, no hearing could take place.
August 23 has been fixed as the next date of hearing, he added.
On July 26, Gandhi appeared before the MP-MLA court here in a defamation case against him and said it was filed to gain "cheap publicity".
According to Shukla, the Congress MP, who appeared before the special judge, said he never made a statement against anyone that could lead to a case of defamation against him.
The court had fixed August 12 as the date of hearing.
Local BJP leader Vijay Mishra had filed a complaint on August 4, 2018, against Gandhi for his alleged objectionable comments against Union Home Minister Amit Shah at a press conference in Bengaluru in May of that year during the Karnataka assembly elections.
The complainant referred to Gandhi's comment that the BJP claims to believe in honest and clean politics but has a party president who is an "accused" in a murder case. Shah was the BJP president when Gandhi made the comment.
About four years before Gandhi's remark, a special CBI court in Mumbai had discharged Shah in a 2005 fake encounter case when he was a minister of state for home in Gujarat.
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Thunderstorm hits Lucknow, IMD issues red alert across multiple UP districts
Lucknow: Shortly after the India Meteorological Department issued a red alert warning of severe weather conditions in the region, a sudden thunderstorm hit Lucknow and adjoining districts on Monday morning.
The Indian Express reported that the skies turned dark around 8:45 am as strong winds lashed parts of the city. Incidents of tree falls were reported from several locations, disrupting traffic and normal movement.
The weather department said thunderstorms accompanied by lightning, hail and gusty winds of 40 to 60 kmph are likely to continue over the next three hours across several districts.
A red alert has been issued for districts including Unnao, Barabanki, Hardoi, Sitapur, Bahraich, Gonda, Shravasti and Lakhimpur Kheri, where moderate thunderstorms with hail and strong winds may damage trees, power lines and temporary structures.
An orange alert is in place for Rae Bareli, Amethi, Kanpur Nagar, Ayodhya, Kanpur Dehat, Auraiya, Kannauj, Farrukhabad, Shahjahanpur and Balrampur, where thunderstorms with lightning and winds up to 60 kmph could lead to localised disruptions.
Major parts of the state remains under yellow alert, including districts such as Prayagraj, Agra, Bareilly, Aligarh and Moradabad, where light rain, lightning and winds of 30 to 40 kmph are expected.
Authorities have advised residents to remain indoors, avoid open areas and trees during lightning, and secure loose objects.
