HC reserves order in petition by Rahul Gandhi

Jharkhand High Court on Tuesday reserved its order in a case filed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi against a criminal case filed in Ranchi for allegedly making statements against Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The court of Justice Ambuj Nath heard the criminal miscellaneous petition filed by Gandhi on a criminal complaint filed by one Navin Jha for having allegedly made certain defamatory remarks against the BJP and its then president Amit Shah in a meeting.

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Jha in his petition, which was filed on April 24, 2022, said that the statement made by Gandhi in the meeting has not been denied by him and is an insult to the BJP, its members and workers. After hearing both the sides, the court directed them to submit the synopses of their arguments in writing by Wednesday. Jha had initially filed the complaint before the court of Ranchi sub divisional judicial magistrate which was dismissed.

He then filed a revision petition before Ranchi judicial commissioner's court, which allowed it and the matter was sent back to the SDJM court. The SDJM court then took cognizance of the allegations made in the complaint under Section 500 (Punishment for Defamation) and issued summons to Gandhi, who moved Jharkhand High Court.

At present there are three cases registered in Jharkhand against Gandhi - two of them are registered in capital Ranchi and one at Chaibasa.