UP: MP-MLA court fixes October 26 to pronounce verdict in defamation case against Rahul

An MP-MLA court on Tuesday (October 13, 2026) fixed October 26 to pronounce the verdict in the defamation case against Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi for his alleged objectionable remarks against then BJP president Amit Shah in 2018.

Mr. Gandhi, who is the Lok Sabha MP from Raebareli, will be required to appear in court on that day, Santosh Kumar Pandey, the counsel for the complainant, said.

Additional Civil Judge Shubham Verma of the Special MP-MLA Court fixed the date for the pronouncement of the verdict.

The case pertains to alleged objectionable remarks made by the Congress leader in 2018 against then BJP national president and now Union Home Minister Shah during an election campaign in Bengaluru.

BJP leader Vijay Mishra, who is a former chairman of the district cooperative bank, had filed a defamation complaint against Gandhi on August 4, 2018.

On November 27, 2023, the court summoned Mr. Gandhi to face trial. The Congress leader subsequently appeared before the court and secured bail.

Mr. Mishra later moved an application seeking comparison of Mr. Gandhi's voice sample, which the trial court rejected. A revision petition against the order was also dismissed by the sessions court.

The Allahabad High Court also dismissed Mishra's petition challenging the orders of the trial court and the sessions court.