Rahul Gandhi has won a major legal reprieve, with a Sultanpur court acquitting him in an eight-year-old defamation case linked to remarks about Union Home Minister Amit Shah
BY PC Bureau
October 26, 2026 — A special MP/MLA court in Sultanpur on Monday acquitted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a criminal defamation case over remarks he allegedly made about Union Home Minister Amit Shah during the 2018 Karnataka Assembly election campaign.
Additional Civil Judge Shubham Verma pronounced the verdict in Gandhi’s presence, holding that the remarks did not amount to defamation, according to initial reports. The case had remained pending for nearly eight years.
The complaint was filed by Vijay Mishra, a local BJP leader and former chairman of the Sultanpur District Cooperative Bank, on August 4, 2018. He alleged that Gandhi had made defamatory remarks about Shah at a press conference or public event in Bengaluru during the Karnataka election campaign.
Gandhi had reportedly questioned the BJP’s claims of clean politics by referring to Shah as the president of a party that had an “accused in a murder case” at its helm. The remark concerned a 2005 alleged fake encounter case in Gujarat, in which Shah was subsequently discharged by a special CBI court in Mumbai.
The Sultanpur court summoned Rahul Gandhi in November 2023. He appeared in February 2024, surrendered and was granted bail. His statement was later recorded, and the court examined the complainant and other witnesses.
During the proceedings, Mishra sought a forensic comparison of Rahul andhi’s voice with a recording of the speech. The trial court rejected the application, and the decision was upheld by higher courts, including the Allahabad High Court, according to reports.
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Arguments in the case concluded in October, with the court initially scheduling its verdict for October 13 before fixing October 26.
Rahul Gandhi travelled to Lucknow on Monday morning and proceeded to Sultanpur under security. After the acquittal, Congress leaders and supporters celebrated outside the court. His lawyer, Kashi Prasad Shukla, welcomed the decision, saying the truth had prevailed.
The full written order was not immediately available in the initial reports. The precise legal reasoning behind the acquittal will be clearer once the detailed judgment is examined.
