Thane: A magistrate’s court at Bhiwandi in Maharashtra’s Thane district on Saturday adjourned the hearing in a defamation case against Rahul Gandhi till May 2, the Congress leader’s lawyer said.
Gandhi’s counsel advocate Narayan Iyer said they submitted an application seeking adjournment on the grounds that a writ petition filed by the Wayanad MP in the Bombay High Court regarding the matter was still pending.
The criminal defamation case has been filed by local Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) member Rajesh Kunte over the Congress leader’s alleged statement at an election rally near Bhiwandi on March 6, 2014, that “the RSS people killed (Mahatma) Gandhi.”
Advocate Prabodh P Jaywant, who represented Kunte, opposed Gandhi’s application. He said the court had imposed a penalty on the complainant for seeking adjournment in the past and the same rule should also be applied to the accused Congress MP.
After hearing both sides, Judicial Magistrate (First Class) L C Wadikar adjourned the hearing till May 2.
Incidentally, Gandhi addressed people in Thane city during his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra on Saturday.