Court rejects plea for Rahul Gandhi’s voice sample in defamation case

A local MP/MLA court on Saturday rejected a plea seeking a voice sample of Rahul Gandhi in an ongoing defamation case, and scheduled the next hearing for 11 May.

The application was filed by BJP functionary Vijay Mishra through his counsel Santosh Kumar Pandey, requesting that Gandhi’s voice sample be obtained for forensic comparison with an audio clip submitted as evidence.

The court dismissed the plea after hearing arguments from both sides, including Gandhi’s counsel Kashi Prasad Shukla. Following the decision, Pandey said they would challenge the order by filing a revision petition before a sessions court.

The case dates back to 2018, when Mishra filed a defamation complaint over alleged remarks made by Gandhi against Amit Shah during the Karnataka Assembly election campaign.

After several years of proceedings, the court issued a warrant against Gandhi in December 2023. The Congress leader, who is also the MP from Rae Bareli, later appeared before the court in February 2024 and was granted bail on two sureties of Rs 25,000 each.

Gandhi recorded his statement in July last year, denying the allegations and describing the case as politically motivated.

The matter has seen multiple delays in recent months, including adjournments due to a lawyers’ strike and the ill health of Gandhi’s counsel. The case will now come up for further hearing later this month.

With PTI inputs