Rahul Gandhi acquitted in 2018 defamation case over Amit Shah remarks
A special MP/MLA court in Sultanpur dismissed a 2018 criminal defamation case against Rahul Gandhi regarding remarks made about Amit Shah.
- Headline: Rahul Gandhi acquitted in 2018 defamation case over Amit Shah remarks
- Dispatch Summary: A special MP/MLA court in Sultanpur dismissed a 2018 criminal defamation case against Rahul Gandhi regarding remarks made about Amit Shah.
- Verification: Corroborated across independent reporting outlets with primary sources and real-time wire transmissions.
A long-running legal battle between India's ruling party and its principal opposition leader has ended in Uttar Pradesh, even as a highway collision cast a shadow over the morning of the ruling.
A special MP/MLA court in Sultanpur on Monday, October 26, 2026, dismissed a 2018 criminal defamation case against Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition and Raebareli MP Rahul Gandhi. The court ruled that Gandhi's remarks were not defamatory in nature, clearing him in a high-stakes dispute concerning statements made about Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
The litigation originated from May 2018, when Gandhi spoke at a press conference in Bengaluru ahead of the Karnataka Assembly elections. At the time, Amit Shah served as the national president of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
What did Rahul Gandhi say in Bengaluru and why did Vijay Mishra sue?
The core of the legal dispute centered on language Gandhi used during his 2018 campaign rounds. According to counsel in the case, the Congress leader referred to Amit Shah as an accused in a murder case. Shah had previously been discharged in the Sohrabuddin encounter case by a special CBI court in 2014.
Aggrieved by the comparison, local BJP politician Vijay Mishra filed a formal defamation complaint against Gandhi on August 4, 2018. Mishra served as the chairman of the local District Cooperative Bank in Sultanpur and as the BJP district vice-president at the time of the incident.
Legal counsel Kashi Prasad Shukla detailed the origin of the proceedings:
This matter dates back to May 2018, when, during a press conference in Bengaluru, Rahul Gandhi made objectionable remarks about the then national president of the BJP, Amit Shah. He referred to him as an accused in a murder case.
Kashi Prasad Shukla, one of the counsel in the case, as quoted by news agency ANI
Before the verdict, legal counsel had outlined that a conviction under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code carried a potential sentence of up to two years' imprisonment along with a financial penalty. That threat loomed large over the opposition leader, whose political career has repeatedly intersected with courtroom challenges.
That leaves the complainant facing a definitive judicial setback after eight years of litigation that wound through multiple tiers of the local judiciary.
How did the legal fight unfold before the Sultanpur ruling?
The case moved slowly through the Uttar Pradesh court system after Mishra's initial 2018 filing. Gandhi traveled from Delhi to attend the Sultanpur court session in person for the formal announcement of the verdict, having previously appeared before the court in 2023 and secured bail.
As the trial progressed, Mishra sought to strengthen his case by requesting a comparison of Gandhi's voice sample with that of the Bengaluru rally, a plea that the trial court rejected, while the sessions court dismissed his revision petition against the order. He then took the matter to the Allahabad High Court, which later dismissed Mishra’s petition challenging the decisions of the two courts.
Speaking to reporters earlier on Monday, complainant Vijay Mishra expressed confidence that the court would rule against the Congress leader:
We are hopeful that we will receive justice, given the way they behaved toward our BJP’s national president at that time (Amit Shah). This legal case has been ongoing since 2018, spanning all the way to 2026. Today is the date for the verdict, and given how the case has been contested by our legal counsel, we are optimistic that the judgment will be in our favour.
Vijay Mishra, Complainant, via Mathrubhumi
That optimism proved misplaced as the special MP/MLA court ultimately dismissed the complaint entirely.
Did a highway accident disrupt the court appearance?
Monday's proceedings were further complicated by an unexpected transit emergency on the way to Sultanpur. Earlier, several people were injured after Gandhi's convoy vehicles collided on the Purvanchal Expressway in the morning.
News18 Hindi reported that five cars and an ambulance collided, leaving many injured. Despite the wreckage, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha is reportedly safe and continued his journey to face the verdict in person.
That sudden disruption added physical peril to a day already freighted with political tension.
What comes next for the opposing camps?
With the Sultanpur court ruling that the statements were not defamatory, the immediate criminal threat against the Congress leader in this docket has dissolved. Under Section 437A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, a defendant would have been required to submit bail bonds and sureties to guarantee court appearances had an appeal been lodged in a higher judicial forum.
It remains unverified whether Mishra or the BJP legal team will mount a fresh challenge in the Allahabad High Court against Monday's dismissal, or how the ruling will influence broader political discourse surrounding ongoing defamation disputes between national rivals.
