Court reserves order on issuing warrant against Rahul Gandhi

Bengaluru: A Special MP/MLA court in Karnataka on Saturday reserved its order on whether to issue a non-bailable warrant against senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in connection with the defamation case filed by Karnataka BJP General Secretary Keshav Prasad.

The order is expected to be announced later in the day.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar appeared before the court in the same case and obtained bail.

Rahul Gandhi, who is also a party to the case, remained absent despite having given an undertaking to the court that he would appear today.

S. A. Ahmed, the counsel for Rahul Gandhi, submitted that his client could not appear in court due to the seventh phase of voting and a meeting of INDIA bloc leaders. He assured the court that Rahul Gandhi will appear on June 7.

Ramesh Babu, another counsel for Rahul Gandhi, pleaded to the court not to issue an order until June 7, and to grant Rahul Gandhi another date for appearance, the third such request.

BJP counsel Vinod Kumar objected to these demands and urged the court to issue a non-bailable arrest warrant against Rahul Gandhi. He argued that the court does not have the power to grant him a third opportunity for appearance. Counsel Ahmed countered that the court does indeed have the authority to grant time for appearance. The court questioned both counsels on the court’s authority to grant time. After hearing their arguments, the court adjourned, reserving its order on the issue.

The defamation suit filed by Prasad alleges that Congress engaged in propaganda by publishing full-page advertisements accusing then BJP government of charging a 40 per cent commission, for providing government projects.