The hearing in the defamation case brought by a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) volunteer against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was adjourned by a court in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra, on Saturday until December 3.
The court will also hear Gandhi's plea for a long-term waiver of his requirement to appear in court on the subsequent date, PTI reported.
Rajesh Kunte, an RSS activist, filed a defamation suit against Gandhi, and Joint Civil Judge and Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) L C Wadikar is currently considering the case.
Following Gandhi's speech in Bhiwandi, in which the Congressman claimed that the RSS was responsible for Mahatma Gandhi's murder, Kunte filed the lawsuit in 2014. This statement, according to Kunte, defamed Sangh's standing.
Gandhi was charged with the offence in 2018 by a Thane court, however, he entered a not guilty plea, reports PTI.
Gandhi's attorney, Narayan Iyer, stated that although his request for a permanent exemption from presence was made two dates ago, it has not yet been heard.
RSS Defamation Case Against Rahul Gandhi
On March 6, 2014, while speaking at an election rally in Maharashtra's Thane district, the then-Congress vice-president claimed that the RSS was behind Mahatma Gandhi's assassination. "RSS people killed Gandhiji, and today their people (BJP) talk about him, they were hostile to Sardar Patel and Gandhiji," the Congress leader was quoted as saying by PTI.
Following the incident, Rajesh Kunte, the secretary of the RSS's Bhiwandi unit, filed a defamation suit against the Congress President in a Maharashtra court. He had accused the Congress leader of tarnishing the Sangh's reputation with his speech.
Rahul Gandhi has been accused for violating the defamation-related Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code. The court has charged Rahul with defamation under Indian Penal Code Sections 499 and 500, according to Kunte's attorney Nandu Phadke.
(With Inputs From PTI)