In relief to Rahul Gandhi, HC quashes magistrate's order in defamation suit
In a relief to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the Bombay High Court on Friday quashed a magistrate's order permitting an RSS worker to submit fresh and additional documents in a pending criminal defamation complaint.
RSS worker Rajesh Kunte had in 2014 lodged a defamation complaint before the Bhiwandi magistrate's court, claiming the Congress leader had made false and defamatory statements during a speech that the right-wing outfit was responsible for the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.
In 2023, the magistrate court in Bhiwandi in Thane district permitted Kunte to submit the transcript of Gandhi's speech, which was part of a petition the Congress leader had filed in 2014 seeking the quashing of summons issued to him.
Kunte contended that by including the transcript as part of his petition, Gandhi had "unambiguously owned up to the speech and its contents".
Gandhi challenged the magistrate's order before the high court. On Friday, a single bench of Justice Prithviraj Chavan allowed