Thane court defers hearing in defamation case against Rahul Gandhi

A magistrate court here today deferred the hearing in the defamation case filed against Congress president Rahul Gandhi by an RSS worker on his alleged statement over Mahatma Gandhi's assassination.

The hearing was deferred after Gandhi's counsel sought time for his client to appear before the court, citing his political commitments.

First Class Judicial Magistrate L M Pathan fixed April 23 for hearing the case.

The complainant's lawyer, however, alleged that these were just delaying tactics and said if Gandhi wanted an adjournment, he should have sought it earlier and not at the last moment.

He also filed a pursis in the court alleging that the accused was being given preferential treatment.

Pursis refers to any written information or a statement in writing that is provided to a court and wish for the information to be included as evidence.

The case against Gandhi was filed by a local RSS functionary, Rajesh Kunte, over the Congress leader's speech at Bhiwandi in Thane district on March 6, 2014 in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls.

During the rally, Gandhi allegedly said, "The RSS people had killed (Mahatma) Gandhi."

The Congress president had said he was ready to face trial after the Supreme Court refused to interfere in the criminal proceedings at the court in Bhiwandi.