Bengaluru, 17 Feb

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday quashed the defamation proceedings initiated by the BJP against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

Challenging the defamation case, Gandhi approached the High Court, arguing that continuing the proceedings would be an abuse of the legal process.

The case, which was filed in 2023 while the BJP was in power in the State, alleged that a Congress advertisement highlighting large-scale irregularities under the party's rule was defamatory.

However, the court observed that the advertisements were a criticism of the government's administration, not the political party as a private entity.

The Court noted that if the Government was defamed, only the State could file a complaint.

The complaint alleged a conspiracy between Rahul Gandhi and two prominent Karnataka leaders. At the time of the filing, Siddaramaiah served as opposition leader and DK Shivakumar as the State Congress president; today, they hold office as the State’s Chief minister and Deputy Chief Minister, respectively.

Gandhi was a Member of Parliament in 2023 and presently serves as the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.