Supreme Court stays defamation proceedings against Rahul Gandhi for remarks on Amit Shah
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has stayed criminal defamation proceedings against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who was booked for calling Union Home Minister Amit Shah a "murder accused."
A Bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta issued notice to the Jharkhand government and the complainant, BJP leader Navin Jha, seeking their responses to Gandhi's plea for quashing the case. The Court also ordered a stay on the trial proceedings until further notice.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Gandhi, argued that the defamation complaint was filed by a third party, which is not permissible under law. Singhvi contended, "If you are not the person aggrieved, how can you have a proxy filing of complaint?"
The case stems from a speech delivered by Gandhi on March 18, 2018, wherein he criticised the BJP and alleged that its leadership accepted a "murder accused" as its president. Following the speech, Jha filed a complaint, which was initially dismissed by a Ranchi magistrate court.
Jha then moved a revision petition before the Judicial Commissioner in Ranchi, who overturned the dismissal on September 15, 2018, and directed the magistrate to reconsider the evidence. Subsequently, on November 28, 2018, the magistrate concluded that there was sufficient evidence to establish a prima facie case under s. 500 of the IPC, which penalises defamation. Gandhi was then summoned to appear in court.
Gandhi's challenge to this order before the Jharkhand High Court was dismissed by single-judge Justice Ambuj Nath. The High Court observed that Gandhi's remarks suggested that BJP leaders were deceitful, intoxicated with power, and willing to accept a "murder accused" as their leader. The Court held that these statements were prima facie defamatory under s. 499 of the IPC.
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Three die in accident after car collides with truck in Kalaburagi
Kalaburagi (Karnataka), Jan 20 (PTI): Three people died and equal number of them were injured after the car they were travelling in allegedly collided head-on with a truck here on Monday, police said.
The incident occurred around 12.30 pm in Magadhampur village, Chincholi taluka, in this district, they said.
According to the police, the car was coming from Bidar to Dharur in Telangana when it collided with a truck.
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The deceased have been identified as Avinash (24), Abhishek (26), and Sanjeev (40). They were traveling in the car, and three others who were with them sustained injuries. They were immediately shifted to the nearest hospital, where they are undergoing treatment.
A case of the accident has been registered, police said, adding that further investigation is underway.
