Rahul Gandhi secures bail in defamation case over remarks on Amit Shah

Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi was granted bail on August 6 by a special MP-MLA court in Jharkhand’s Chaibasa in connection with a 2018 defamation case related to alleged derogatory remarks about Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Gandhi appeared before the court at around 10:55 am in compliance with a direction from the Jharkhand High Court. His legal team moved swiftly to seek bail, which the court approved during the brief hearing.

“Rahul Gandhi ji appeared as instructed by the high court. Bail has been granted, and the legal process will now continue,” his counsel told reporters outside the courtroom.

The defamation case was filed by local resident Pratap Kumar, who alleged that Gandhi had made defamatory statements during a public rally in Chaibasa in 2018, with the intent of tarnishing Amit Shah’s public image. Kumar filed the petition in the court of the magistrate, citing deliberate maligning of Shah’s stature.

Earlier, on June 2, Gandhi had approached the Jharkhand High Court challenging an order by the special Chaibasa court that had summoned him to appear on June 26. His counsel later informed the high court that Gandhi would be unable to attend on that date and requested August 6 instead — a plea the court accepted.

Gandhi arrived in Jharkhand on August 5 to attend the funeral of former Jharkhand chief minister and veteran tribal leader Shibu Soren in Nemra village, Ramgarh district. He then flew by helicopter from Ranchi to Chaibasa for the court appearance, landing at a makeshift helipad set up at Tata College Ground, officials confirmed.

The case will now proceed under the court’s direction, though no further hearing date was immediately disclosed.