Rahul Gandhi Granted Bail by Lucknow Court in Army Defamation Case

LUCKNOW:

Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi was granted bail on Tuesday by a Lucknow court in a defamation case linked to remarks he made in 2022 about the Indian Army during the Bharat Jodo Yatra. The case alleges that Gandhi’s comments were derogatory and defamatory towards the Indian armed forces.

Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Alok Verma granted bail to Gandhi on the condition that he furnishes a personal bond of ₹20,000 and two sureties of the same amount. The court has scheduled the next hearing of the case for 13 August.

The complaint was filed by lawyer Vivek Tiwari on behalf of Uday Shankar Srivastava, a former director of the Border Roads Organisation, who held a rank equivalent to that of an Army Colonel. The complaint pertains to Gandhi’s statement on 16 December 2022, in which he alleged that “Chinese soldiers are beating up Indian Army personnel in Arunachal Pradesh,” during a public address criticising the government’s handling of border tensions with China.

According to the complainant, Gandhi’s remarks were not only factually incorrect but also disrespectful towards the Indian Army, and amounted to defamation of the institution. The court had earlier issued a summoning order, which Gandhi had challenged in the Allahabad High Court. However, the High Court rejected his plea, prompting him to appear in person before the trial court in Lucknow.

Advocates Pranshu Agrawal, Mohd Yasir Abbasi, and Mohammed Samar Ansari represented Gandhi during the proceedings on Tuesday.

This case is one among several legal challenges currently facing the senior Congress leader. In January this year, the Supreme Court stayed criminal defamation proceedings in another case where Gandhi had referred to Union Home Minister Amit Shah as a “murder accused” during a 2018 speech. That complaint was filed by BJP leader Navin Jha, who alleged that Gandhi’s remarks were a direct attack on Shah’s character and reputation.

The Congress MP has also faced judicial criticism over his comments on Hindutva icon Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. The Supreme Court recently took exception to Gandhi’s description of Savarkar as a “collaborator with the British” who allegedly received a pension from colonial authorities.

Tuesday’s hearing in Lucknow attracted considerable public and media attention, with Congress leaders rallying in support of Gandhi outside the court premises. They maintained that the legal actions against him were politically motivated and aimed at silencing the Opposition’s voice.

The ruling BJP, however, has maintained that Gandhi must be held accountable for what it describes as “irresponsible and disrespectful” statements against national institutions.

The defamation case will now proceed to trial, where the court will evaluate whether Gandhi’s remarks constitute criminal defamation under Indian law. As the next hearing approaches, the matter is likely to remain a political flashpoint amid ongoing friction between the government and the Opposition in the run-up to the monsoon session of Parliament.