Sultanpur (UP), April 6 A court here on Monday adjourned the hearing in a defamation case against Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, as the complainant's counsel failed to appear.
The court fixed April 17 as the next date of hearing.
The case was scheduled to be heard in the MP/MLA court in Sultanpur, but complainant Vijay Mishra's counsel, Santosh Kumar Pandey, could not attend due to prior commitments, following which the court deferred the proceedings.
Pandey said he could not appear in court due to personal reasons.
He added that on the previous date, March 28, he had moved an application seeking examination of Gandhi's voice sample under the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), requesting that it be matched with a CD already submitted at a forensic laboratory.
The complaint in the case was filed by local BJP politician Vijay Mishra in October 2018.
Gandhi had surrendered before the court on February 20, 2024, and was granted bail on two sureties of Rs 25,000 each by the special magistrate.
He had appeared again before the MP/MLA court on July 26, 2024, to record his statement, wherein he claimed innocence and termed the case a political conspiracy.
Following his statement, the court had directed the complainant to present evidence, and witnesses have been examined since then.
Earlier, Gandhi's statement under Section 313 of the CrPC, which empowers the court to examine the accused personally at any stage of inquiry or trial following the prosecution's evidence to explain incriminating circumstances, was recorded.
He was asked to present his defence and evidence, but his counsel did not submit any reply or material before the court.