Hathras (UP), March 16 The hearing in a defamation case against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, related to the 2020 Hathras gangrape, could not be held in an MP-MLA court in this district of Uttar Pradesh on Monday as the judge was on leave, a lawyer said.
The hearing in the case has now been scheduled for April 13.
"Although the case was listed for hearing on Monday, the proceedings could not take place as the judge of the MP-MLA court, Deepak Nath Saraswati, was on leave," Munna Singh Pundhir, the lawyer representing the petitioners, said.
Meanwhile, Gandhi's counsel has filed a letter of objection in the matter.
Advocate Alok Chandra, representing the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha in the matter, said he filed the formal objection on Monday and a copy of the same has also been provided to the petitioners' counsel.
The complaint alleges that Gandhi made defamatory remarks on December 12, 2024, against three men even after they were acquitted of the charge of rape.
The case refers to the alleged gangrape of a 19-year-old Dalit woman, who died in September 2020. She was cremated outside the village by police in the middle of the night allegedly against the wishes of her family.
Pundhir alleged that Gandhi, during his visit to Boolgarhi village on December 12, 2024, said the accused were roaming freely while the victim's family members were confined to their home.
The lawyer said petitioners Ravi, Ram Kumar alias Ramu and Lovkush found the statement defamatory as they were acquitted of the charge of rape following a CBI probe and a trial that lasted more than two years and a half, during which they remained in jail.
Pundhir claimed that while one accused -- Sandeep -- was originally named in the case, the petitioners were falsely implicated at the insistence of the complainant's family.
He said notices were earlier sent to Gandhi seeking a response, but no reply was received, following which the defamation case was filed. He added that a legal notice demanding Rs 1.5 crore in damages -- Rs 50 lakh each for the three acquitted men -- was also served on the Congress leader.