LUCKNOW| 15TH JULY 2025 – A court in Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow has granted bail to Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case filed over his remarks about the Indian Army during the 2022 Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Alok Verma granted Gandhi bail on the condition that he furnishes a personal bond of ₹20,000 along with two sureties of the same amount. The matter has been listed for the next hearing on August 13.
BACKGROUND OF THE CASE
Rahul Gandhi appeared before the trial court after the Allahabad High Court rejected his plea against a summoning order.
The defamation complaint was filed by lawyer Vivek Tiwari on behalf of Uday Shankar Srivastava, a former director of the Border Roads Organisation with a rank equivalent to an Army Colonel.
Tiwari alleged that Gandhi’s remarks on December 16, 2022, regarding clashes between Indian and Chinese troops were “derogatory and defamatory” toward the Indian Army.
Gandhi had said, “Chinese soldiers are beating up Indian Army personnel in Arunachal Pradesh,” criticizing the government over Chinese actions at the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
MULTIPLE LEGAL CHALLENGES
Rahul Gandhi has faced several petitions and defamation cases filed by political rivals and individuals across the country.
In January 2024, the Supreme Court stayed criminal defamation proceedings against Gandhi for allegedly calling Union Home Minister and former BJP President Amit Shah a “murder accused.” The case was based on a complaint by BJP leader Navin Jha, who alleged that Gandhi made the statement during a speech on March 18, 2018, criticizing the BJP and Shah.
Additionally, the Supreme Court recently pulled up Gandhi for his remarks about Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. Gandhi had stated that Savarkar was a “collaborator with the British who received pension from the British,” which stirred fresh controversy.
LEGAL REPRESENTATION
Advocates Pranshu Agrawal, Mohd Yasir Abbasi, and Mohammed Samar Ansari appeared for Rahul Gandhi in the Lucknow court.
