Madhya Pradesh High Court closes defamation case against Rahul Gandhi after he expresses regret

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Thursday closed defamation procedures initiated against Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi by Union Minister and Former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s son Kartikey Singh Chauhan [Rahul Gandhi v. Kartikey Singh Chauhan]

Kartikey Singh Chauhan had filed the defamation complaint before a trial court after Gandhi allegedly linked him to the Panama Papers controversy in 2018.

Today, Justice Pramod Kumar Agrawal closed the proceedings after Gandhi expressed regret over his statement and said that soon after publication of the alleged defamatory statement, he had issued a clarification.

The Court also took into account Kartikey Singh Chauhan’s statement that he would not like to escalate the matter further after Gandhi’s regret. 

“Considering the statement of applicant mentioned in I.A. No. 14821/2026 and the reply filed to the aforesaid IA as well as arguments advanced by learned counsel for both the sides wherein regret has been expressed by applicant, the proceedings before this Court are closed and proceedings pending before the JMFC, Special Judge (MP & MLA) complaint case no. SCPPM No. 03/2018 Bhopal shall also stand closed,” the Court ordered.

Gandhi had made the alleged statement during the campaigning for 2018 Assembly Elections in Madhya Pradesh. He later clarified that he intended to refer to the son of the former Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh and not Madhya Pradesh. 

Senior Advocates Vivek Krishna Tankha and Ajay Gupta with Advocates Aishwarya Sahu and Rajeev Mishra represented Gandhi.

Advocate Sankalp Kochar represented the respondent Kartikey Singh Chauhan.

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