Rahul Gandhi to appear in Gujarat courts in two more defamation cases

Rahul Gandhi is likely to appear before different magistrates' courts in Gujarat on Friday over the two criminal defamation suits filed against the Congress leader. One of the cases was filed against Rahul Gandhi for calling Amit Shah a "murder accused" during a Lok Sabha 2019 election rally on April 23.

After calling Amit Shah  a "murder accused,' Rahul Gandhi mocked his son, Jay Shah, by calling him a "magician" alleging money laundering. Rahul Gandhi had said, "Murder accused BJP President Amit Shah....waah! kya shaan hai....Have you heard Jay Shah's name? He is a magician, he made Rs 50,000 into Rs 80 crore in 3 months."

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The other case is about his claim that the Ahmedabad District Cooperative (ADC) Bank, of which Amit Shah is a director, was involved in a scam of swapping demonetised notes worth Rs 750 crore with valid currency within five days of demonetisation in 2016. The suit has been filed by the ADC Bank and its chairman Ajay Patel.

In a release, the Gujarat unit of Congress said Rahul Gandhi would reach the court premises around 2.30 pm on Friday.

Defamation cases against Rahul Gandhi

In July, the Congress leader appeared before a magistrate's court here in connection with the defamation suit filed by the ADC Bank and pleaded not guilty.

Earlier in May, another metropolitan magistrate had issued summons seeking Gandhi's appearance in a defamation suit filed by BJP corporator Krishnavadan Brahmbhatt for calling Shah a "murder accused" at an election rally in Jabalpur. Rahul Gandhi's jibe was slanderous as Amit Shah was acquitted in the Sohrabuddin Shaikh fake encounter case in 2015, the complainant said.

Rahul Gandhi will appear before the court in this case for the first time on Friday. On Thursday, the senior Congress appeared before a court in Surat in yet another defamation case and pleaded not guilty. This case is over his remark "why do all thieves share the Modi surname", made during a poll rally.  Arriving in Surat to appear for the defamation case, Rahul Gandhi in a tweet accused his political opponents of trying to "silence him."

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