Rahul to appear in Ahmedabad court for comments against Amit Shah

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is all set to appear in a Metropolitan Court in Ahmedabad on Tuesday in connection with a defamation case filed against him. Gandhi had appeared in court in two separate defamation cases in Mumbai and Patna last week.

BJP corporator Krishnavadan Brahmbhatt had filed a case after Gandhi had referred to BJP president Amit Shah as a “murder accused” in an election rally in Madhya Pradesh. Shah had been an accused in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, but was discharged by a CBI court.

The applicant's lawyer had contented that though the speech was made in Madhya Pradesh, the jurisdiction of the case can be Ahmedabad also as the speech was shown on television and newspapers had also carried reports.

While issuing summons to Gandhi, Metropolitan Magistrate D.S. Dabhi fixed the hearing for Tuesday.

Gujarat Congress sources said that except for a couple of senior party leaders, including state party president Amit Chavda, Gandhi's schedule has not been made known.

Another court has asked Gandhi to remain present in Ahmedabad on July 12 in connection with a separate criminal defamation suit filed against him. The case was filed by Ahmedabad District Cooperative Bank and its chairman Ajay Patel.

Within days of the announcement of demonetisation in 2016, Gandhi and Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala had alleged that the ADCB was involved in a “scam” to convert scrapped notes worth over Rs 740 crore.