Karnataka High Court quashes BJP’s defamation case against Rahul Gandhi

Karnataka High Court dismisses BJP's defamation case against Rahul Gandhi, citing legal abuse and constitutional protections for criticism.

In a relief to Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, the High Court of Karnataka on Tuesday (February 17) quashed the criminal proceedings against him in a defamation case filed by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s State unit. The case was filed for allegedly issuing “defamatory” advertisements in mainstream newspapers against the then BJP government during the campaign for the State Legislative Assembly elections in 2023.

Justice S. Sunil Dutt Yadav delivered the verdict while allowing a petition filed by Mr. Gandhi, who questioned the legality of the defamation case, in which he has been arraigned as accused number 4. The BJP’s State had lodged the complaint before the magistrate court in June 2023.

The continuance of proceedings against Mr. Gandhi would amount legal abuse, the Court said while dictating the operative portion of the verdict.

The BJP had alleged in the complaint that “false, baseless, and reckless” allegations were made under the title ‘Corruption rate card’ in the advertisements issued on May 5, 2023, in all the mainstream newspapers in Karnataka, terming the then BJP government as “40% sarkar” and alleging that the BJP government had “looted over ₹1,50,000 crore from the people of the State during its 2019-2023 regime”.

The advertisements were issued by the Karnataka Pradesh Congress president through D.K. Shivakumar, in his capacity as its president, and by Siddaramaiah, as the then Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, and Mr. Gandhi had put up these “defamatory advertisements” on his ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) account. Mr. Siddaramaiah and Mr. Shivakumar have also been arraigned as accused.

It has been contended in Mr. Gandhi’s petition that the alleged defamatory advertisements are criticism of the administration of the then BJP government in the State and criticising the administration cannot be brought under the purview of defamation. The criticism made in the contentious advertisements comes under the exemptions provided under Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code for making imputation in good faith, it has been claimed in the petition.