Rahul Gandhi to be in Mumbai on June 12 for court hearing

Congress president Rahul Gandhi will be in Mumbai on June 12 to attend a court hearing in connection with a defamation case filed against him.

Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam said that Gandhi would be present in Bhiwandi court at 11am on June 12 and would later meet the party's booth-level workers.

On May 2, the Bhiwandi Magistrate Court in neighbouring Thane had asked Gandhi to appear before it on June 12 to record his plea in a defamation case filed against him by an RSS functionary.

The court had, on May 2, heard arguments on Gandhi's application, seeking a detailed recording of evidence instead of a 'summary trial', and adjourned the matter till June 12.

The court had said that it would pass an order on the application and would also record the defendant's (Rahul Gandhi) plea on June 12, and asked him to remain present on that day.

Rajesh Kunte, a local worker of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, had filed the case against Gandhi in 2014 after watching his speech in Thane's Bhiwandi township where the Congress leader alleged that the RSS was behind the killing of Mahatma Gandhi.

He filed the case against the Congress president over the latter's alleged statement at an election rally near Bhiwandi on March 6, 2014 that "the RSS people had killed (Mahatma) Gandhi."