Bengaluru, February 17 – The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday dismissed a criminal defamation case filed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, alleging that he had engaged in propaganda against the party.
The case concerned an advertisement titled "Corruption Rate Card" targeting the previous BJP government during the Assembly elections. Rahul Gandhi had filed a petition seeking to quash the charges against him. The court observed that allowing the proceedings to continue would amount to an abuse of the legal process.
A bench headed by Justice Sunil Dutt Yadav passed the order, stating that the proceedings, insofar as the petitioner, Rahul Gandhi, is concerned, are set aside.
The complaint was filed by BJP leader Keshav Prasad. The complainant accused Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, and Rahul Gandhi of publishing false advertisements against the then BJP-led government headed by Basavaraj Bommai.
The petition alleged that the accused had released full-page advertisements in the media as part of a campaign accusing the then BJP government of taking a 40 per cent commission. Rahul Gandhi had shared this on his social media platform, X.
The advertisement, which appeared on May 5, 2023, in all mainstream newspapers, made fanciful, baseless, and irrational allegations against the BJP, the complaint said.
Challenging the proceedings, it was submitted that there is no prima facie evidence to prove charges against Rahul Gandhi, and the petitioner has failed to produce any documentary evidence to prove that Rahul Gandhi had circulated the advertisement on his social media handle, except for the bare pleading in the complaint that Rahul Gandhi had given instructions to issue the advertisements.
Rahul Gandhi had appeared before the Special MP/MLA court in Bengaluru in connection with the case. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar had also appeared before the court and secured bail.
Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar had termed the case “false” and stated, “It is a false case filed by the Bharatiya Janata Party against me, Rahul Gandhi, and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.”
It is worth noting that the Congress made the "40 per cent commission" allegation a major campaign issue against the then-ruling BJP. Initially, the allegations were raised in speeches. The party later launched social media campaigns and put up posters across the state.