Rahul Gandhi gets bail in 2018 defamation case linked to Amit Shah

The matter pertains to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi allegedly calling Union Home Minister Amit Shah a murderer in his speech in 2018

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been granted bail in a 2018 defamation case over his remarks against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The Congress leader was granted bail shortly after he surrendered in court.

Rahul Gandhi furnished two surety bail bonds of Rs 25,000 each and a personal bond for his bail.

"He [Rahul Gandhi] surrendered in court today. He surrendered, and the court took him into custody for 30–45 minutes. After that, his bail application was submitted and was accepted [by the court].. The further date has not been given yet. His lawyer said that he is innocent, and he has not made any defamatory statement," advocate Santosh Pandey was quoted as saying by ANI.

The complaint was filed by the then BJP district vice president, Vijay Mishra.

Mishra, in his complaint, said that remarks by Rahul Gandhi against Amit Shah had "deeply pained" him.

"I was the vice president of BJP when this incident occurred. Rahul Gandhi had accused Amit Shah of being a murderer during a conference in Bengaluru. When I heard these allegations, it deeply pained me because I have been a dedicated party worker for 33 years. I filed a complaint through my lawyer, and the legal proceedings have continued for almost five years," Mishra told ANI.

Meanwhile, the Congress had paused the ongoing Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, which entered its 37th day today, for Rahul Gandhi to appear before the court. The yatra is scheduled to resume later today at 2 pm.