Rahul Gandhi Cleared in Case Over 2018 Amit Shah Remarks

WHO:

Bloomberg Markets - Rahul Gandhi was identified as India’s opposition leader.

NDTV - Rahul Gandhi was identified as a Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

NDTV - Amit Shah was identified as the then-BJP president and current Union Home Minister.

NDTV - Vijay Mishra was identified as the BJP district vice president at the time he filed the complaint.

NDTV - Gandhi was represented by Senior Advocate RS Cheema and advocates Kashi Shukla, Tarannum Cheema, Prasanna S, and Akash Singh.

NDTV - Uttar Pradesh Congress president Aradhana Mishra “Mona” said the party had complete faith in the judiciary.

WHAT:

Bloomberg Markets - Gandhi was acquitted in a criminal defamation case concerning remarks he allegedly made about Amit Shah.

NDTV - A court found Gandhi “not guilty,” ruling that his remarks were not defamatory.

NDTV - Gandhi appeared in person for the judgment.

NDTV - Mishra filed a criminal defamation complaint against Gandhi under Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code.

NDTV - Gandhi appeared in court and secured bail.

NDTV - Mishra said, “I was the vice president of BJP when this incident happened...When I heard these allegations, I felt very pained because I am a 33-year-old worker of the party. I filed a complaint regarding this through my lawyer and this continued for almost five years.”

NDTV - Aradhana Mishra said, “We have complete faith in the judiciary. Rahul Gandhi ji is going to Sultanpur for that case only.”

WHERE:

NDTV - The judgment was pronounced by the Special MP-MLA Court in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh.

NDTV - The remarks at issue were made at a rally in Bengaluru.

WHEN:

Bloomberg Markets - Bloomberg described the case as ending an eight-year legal battle.

NDTV - Gandhi’s remarks were made in 2018, at a rally ahead of the 2018 Karnataka Assembly elections.

NDTV - Mishra spoke to ANI on November 28, 2023, after the court issued Gandhi a summons.

NDTV - Gandhi appeared in court in 2023 and secured bail.

WHY:

NDTV - Mishra said he filed the complaint because he felt pained by the allegations about Shah.

HOW:

NDTV - Mishra filed the complaint through his lawyer.

NDTV - The court had fixed October 13 for the verdict, then rescheduled it to October 26.

(UPDATED October 26, 2026 09:13 UTC)

Rahul Gandhi has been acquitted in a criminal defamation case over remarks about Amit Shah, after a court ruled that the comments were not defamatory. The Special MP-MLA Court in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, found Gandhi not guilty; he appeared in person for the judgment. The case concerned remarks he made at a rally in Bengaluru during campaigning ahead of the Karnataka Assembly elections. Vijay Mishra, who was a BJP district vice president when he filed the complaint, brought the case under Indian Penal Code provisions on criminal defamation. He said the allegations about Shah had pained him, and that the legal proceedings continued for almost five years. Gandhi had appeared in court and secured bail during the case. Uttar Pradesh Congress president Aradhana Mishra said the party had complete faith in the judiciary. The acquittal ends an eight-year legal battle.