Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, received major relief from the MP-MLA court in Lucknow on Tuesday.
The case pertains to allegedly derogatory remarks made about the Indian Army during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in 2022. Gandhi is accused of making statements that were deemed defamatory and objectionable towards the Indian Army, particularly in reference to a clash between Indian and Chinese troops on December 9, 2022.
The defamation complaint, filed by former Border Roads Organisation (BRO) Director Uday Shankar Srivastava, alleges that Gandhi stated in a very derogatory manner that the Chinese army is “thrashing” Indian soldiers in Arunachal Pradesh and that the Indian press would not question it.
On Tuesday, Gandhi appeared personally before Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Alok Verma at the MP-MLA Special Magistrate Court in Lucknow and formally surrendered after remaining absent during the last five hearings in the case.
Following this, his lawyer filed a bail application. His counsel, Advocate Pranshu Agrawal, argued that Gandhi is innocent and that no offence was made against him.
However, the counsel for the complainant contended that Gandhi’s remarks hurt the dignity and respect of the Indian Army and attempted to bring its morale down,
The court accepted Gandhi’s bail plea and granted him bail on the condition of furnishing his personal bond of Rs 20,000 along with two sureties of the same amount. The next date of hearing in the case has been set for August 13.
Gandhi’s court appearance followed the rejection of his plea by the Allahabad High Court in May 2025, wherein he had challenged both the defamation case and the summoning order passed in February 2025 by the MP-MLA court.
Dismissing his plea, the High Court observed that the right to freedom of speech and expression does not extend to making defamatory statements about the Indian Army.
Justice Subhash Vidyarthi noted, “No doubt, Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India guarantees freedom of speech and expression, this freedom is subject to the reasonable restrictions and it does not include the freedom to make statements which are defamatory to any person or defamatory to the Indian Army.”
Gandhi was represented in court by Advocates Pranshu Agrawal, Mohd Yasir Abbasi, and Mohammed Samar Ansari.