Rahul Gandhi moves Bombay High Court to quash defamation case for linking RSS to Gauri Lankesh murder

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi moved the Bombay High Court on Tuesday challenging an order of a Mumbai court taking cognizance of a defamation complaint against him..The case was listed before Justice SV Kotwal who adjourned the case to December 5.The defamation case against Gandhi was initiated on the ground that he allegedly linked the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) to journalist Gauri Lankesh’s murder..The criminal proceedings were initiated on a complaint filed by Mumbai lawyer Dhrutiman Joshi against Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and secretary general of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Sitaram Yechury. In September 2017, Joshi came across the defamatory remarks made by Gandhi on national media outside the precincts of Parliament. Similar statements were made by Yechury before the national media at a different location.Joshi claimed that being a grassroots worker of RSS, he felt humiliated and defamed in the eyes of the common public when such statements were made against the organisation of which he was a part..The magistrate at Borivali took cognizance of the complaint on February 18, 2019 and summoned Rahul Gandhi and Yechury and dismissed the complaint against Sonia Gandhi. Rahul and Yechury appeared before the Borivali court on July 4, 2019, and recorded their plea. Both also secured bail and the court proceeded with the trial. Gandhi filed an application seeking dismissal of the complaint on the grounds that since the statements by Gandhi and Yechury were made at different places, there could not be a joint trial. This was rejected by the magistrate in November 2019..Gandhi has approached the High Court against this order on the grounds that two accused who spoke at different times and places could not be tried together. “Gandhi and Yechury could have been tried only if the offence committed allegedly by them is in the course of the same transaction. The statements are independent and made by different individuals at different points of time and there is no community of purpose, or continuity of action by which it could be inferred that what they have spoken is in consequence of their common design and their acts are connected with each other,” the petition stated..Gandhi sought quashing of the complaint and all orders passed by the Magistrate during the hearing of the complaint. .Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.