Rahul Gandhi skips court date in defamation case
A Bhiwandi court on Friday adjourned the proceedings on a defamation case against Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi to April 21.
Rahul did not appear before the court and his counsel submitted an application for his exemption on Monday, which the court granted.
The case has been filed by an RSS worker who said that the Congress leader had defamed the Hindu right-wing organisation by blaming it for killing the Father of the Nation. Mahatma Gandhi was shot dead by a Hindu nationalist, Nathuram Godse, on January 30, 1948 in then Bombay.
During course of investigation, the Thane police acquired a CD of Rahul’s speech. Both the prosecution and the defence demanded the CD, following which the court superintendent was directed to submit it on April 21. “The court adjourned the proceedings till April 21 for compliance of the CD. We will have to go through the CD which the police have acquired from the election commission,” said Narayan Iyer, Gandhi’s counsel. During the previous proceedings when Gan dhi was present January 30, his counsel’s had demanded copies o the newspaper cuttings which had published Gandhi’s speech
In November last year, the magistrate’s court had granted bail to Rahul Gandhi in the case but asked him to attend proceed ings on January 30.The Bombay high court turned down the Con gress leaders’ plea to quash the criminal defamation case but had exempted him from persona appearance.
He then moved Supreme Cour with a special leave petition for permission to challenge the HC dismissal of his plea but later withdrew the plea, expressing readiness to face trial.