In Sultanpur, a scheduled session for the 2018 defamation lawsuit against Rahul Gandhi concerning his purported derogatory remarks aimed at Union Home Minister Amit Shah has been slated for May 27, prompted by the assignment of a fresh adjudicator to the specialized tribunal. The defamation grievance against Gandhi was instigated by BJP luminary Vijay Mishra half a decade ago.

As articulated by the plaintiff’s legal representative, Santosh Pandey, deliberations will transpire on May 27. Kashi Prasad Shukla, counsel for Gandhi, conveyed that the proceeding couldn’t proceed earlier due to the vacancy in the MP/MLA court arising from the recent transfer of the incumbent adjudicator, with no replacement yet designated.

In December of the prior year, the tribunal issued a summons against Rahul Gandhi. Consequently, Gandhi suspended his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Amethi on February 20, made an appearance in court, and was accorded bail. The grievance was lodged on August 4, 2018, in response to Rahul Gandhi’s alleged disparaging remarks against Shah at a press briefing in Bengaluru during the Karnataka electoral campaign in May of the same year.

The plaintiff highlighted Gandhi’s assertion that although the BJP professes a commitment to upright and unsullied politics, it harbors a party leader implicated in a homicide case. At the time of Gandhi’s pronouncement, Shah held the position of BJP president. Approximately four years prior to Gandhi’s commentary, a specialized CBI tribunal in Mumbai absolved Shah of involvement in a 2005 counterfeit encounter case during his tenure as Gujarat’s minister of state for home.