A special MP-MLA court in Lucknow on Monday granted bail to Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, in a defamation case over remarks allegedly made against Indian soldiers during the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Gandhi appeared in person before Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Alok Verma to seek bail after missing five earlier hearings. His appearance followed the Allahabad High Court’s rejection of his plea in May, where he had challenged both the defamation complaint and the February 2025 summons issued by the MP-MLA court.
The Allahabad High Court had dismissed his challenge stating that while Article 19(1)(a) guarantees freedom of speech, it does not cover defamatory statements against individuals or the Indian Army. Justice Subhash Vidyarthi observed that such statements fall outside the ambit of constitutional protection.
The case stems from a complaint filed by former Border Roads Organisation (BRO) director Uday Shankar Srivastava, who alleged that Gandhi’s remarks during the Bharat Jodo Yatra on December 16, 2022, defamed the Indian Army. Gandhi had allegedly commented that the Chinese army was “thrashing” Indian soldiers in Arunachal Pradesh and accused the Indian media of not questioning the government on the matter.
Gandhi was represented by advocates Pranshu Agrawal, Mohd Yasir Abbasi, and Mohammed Samar Ansari.
