Rahul Gandhi gets bail from Bengaluru court in defamation case filed by BJP

Bengaluru court on Friday granted bail to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in defamation case filed by BJP Karnataka unit.

The case against Rahul Gandhi revolves around advertisements published before last year's assembly elections, accusing the BJP government in Karnataka of widespread corruption during its 2019-2023 term.

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In June 2023, the BJP filed a complaint alleging that these ads, published on May 5, 2023, in major Karnataka newspapers, made false and reckless claims. The ads, titled "Corruption rate card," accused the BJP's Basavaraj Bommai government of being a "40 per cent Commission Sarkara (government)."

The complaint stated that the ads were issued by the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee, led by its president, Shivakumar, and Siddaramaiah, the then Leader of the Opposition. It also noted that Rahul Gandhi shared the "defamatory advertisement" on his social media account on X.

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On June 1, the court granted bail to Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar after they appeared in connection with the case. Judge K N Shivakumar set June 7 for Rahul Gandhi's personal appearance. During the hearing, Gandhi's counsel requested an exemption from appearance, which the complainant's side opposed, arguing against repeated exemptions.

In an other case, an MP-MLA court in Prayagraj on Friday postponed the hearing of a 2018 defamation case against Rahul Gandhi regarding his remarks about Union home minister Amit Shah. Due to a lawyer's death, the hearing was rescheduled to June 18.

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The case, filed by BJP leader Vijay Mishra, stems from comments Gandhi made in May 2018 during a press conference in Bengaluru, alleging the BJP president was involved in a murder case.

A special CBI court had discharged Shah in 2014 from a 2005 fake encounter case.