Rahul Gandhi Moves Madhya Pradesh High Court, Expresses Regret in Defamation Case Linked to 2018 Rally Remarks
Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has approached the Madhya Pradesh High Court in connection with a defamation case filed by Kartikeya Singh, son of Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, over alleged remarks made during a 2018 election rally.
The case stems from statements reportedly made by Gandhi at a public meeting in Jhabua during the 2018 Madhya Pradesh Assembly election campaign, where he referred to the Panama Papers controversy while mentioning Kartikeya Singh’s name. The complainant has alleged that the reference caused damage to his reputation.
Kartikeya Singh had earlier filed a complaint before a special MP–MLA court in Bhopal, accusing the Congress leader of defamation. Acting on the petition, the trial court issued summons directing Rahul Gandhi to appear personally in the case.
In response, Gandhi has now moved the Madhya Pradesh High Court seeking relief from the summons and quashing of the ongoing defamation proceedings. In the application submitted through his counsel, he has stated that the remarks were not intended to specifically refer to Kartikeya Singh and has also expressed regret over the statement in question, according to court submissions.
The matter came up before Justice Pramod Kumar Agarwal, with the High Court scheduled to hear the plea further. The court also directed submission of relevant lower court records, which were produced during the hearing. Counsel representing the complainant also appeared before the court.
The legal development has also triggered a political reaction, with BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya criticising Rahul Gandhi over the issue. In a post on X, Malviya alleged that the Congress leader repeatedly makes controversial statements and later retracts them.
He further questioned the consistency of Gandhi’s remarks, suggesting that expressing regret after court challenges has become a recurring pattern in similar cases.
