MP HC reserves order in Rahul Gandhi-Kartikey Chouhan defamation case

Jabalpur, June 25 (IANS) The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Thursday reserved its order in a defamation case involving Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Kartikey Singh Chouhan, son of Union Minister and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

The matter was heard by a single-judge bench of Justice Pramod Kumar Agrawal, which reserved its verdict after hearing arguments from both sides.

During the hearing, LoP Rahul Gandhi submitted before the court that he had inadvertently mentioned Kartikey Chouhan’s name while referring to the Panama Papers controversy during an election rally in Jhabua in October 2018.

In an application filed before the court, Gandhi said he realised the mistake and publicly clarified it the very next day. According to the application, Gandhi stated that he had intended to refer to the son of the then Chhattisgarh Chief Minister, Raman Singh, and not to Kartikey Chouhan or his father, who was then the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.

He also expressed regret over the reference and said he stood by the clarification issued on October 30, 2018. Gandhi urged the High Court to close the matter and drop the criminal defamation proceedings pending before the Special MP-MLA Court in Bhopal.

The High Court had earlier sought a response from Kartikey Chouhan after Gandhi filed an affidavit in the case.

During Thursday’s hearing, counsel for Kartikey Chouhan informed the court that his client no longer had any objection to the name being mentioned, due to confusion and not with any intention to defame him.

Advocate Sankalp Kochar, appearing for Kartikey Chouhan, told the court that Gandhi had admitted the reference was made inadvertently and had already expressed regret.

He said his client was not pressing the issue and sought to have the dispute closed.

The case relates to a speech delivered by LoP Rahul Gandhi during the 2018 Madhya Pradesh Assembly election campaign. In the speech, Gandhi alleged that Kartikey Chouhan’s name appeared in the Panama Papers leak and questioned why no action had been taken.

Claiming that the statement harmed his reputation, Kartikey Chouhan filed a criminal defamation complaint in the MP-MLA Court in Bhopal. The trial court later took cognisance of the complaint and issued a summons to Gandhi.

Challenging the summons and the ongoing proceedings, Gandhi approached the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

Following submissions from both parties and noting the clarification and expression of regret placed on record, the High Court has reserved its order.

–IANS

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