Rahul Gandhi gets major legal relief, acquitted in defamation case over Amit Shah remarks

Lucknow/IBNS: Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi was acquitted by a special MP/MLA court on Monday in a 2018 criminal defamation case over his remarks against Union Home Minister Amit Shah, media reports said.

IBNS • 26 Oct 2026, 03:30 pm

The case stemmed from Gandhi's remarks against Shah, who was the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president at the time.

Case over ‘murder-accused’ remark

At a rally in Bengaluru in 2018, Gandhi allegedly referred to Shah as a "murder-accused", triggering a defamation complaint against the Congress leader.

The complaint was filed by Vijay Mishra, a BJP district vice-president and former chairman of the Sultanpur District Cooperative Bank.

Gandhi appeared before court in 2024

Gandhi was summoned by the court on November 27, 2023, and surrendered before it on February 20, 2024.

The court has now acquitted him in the case.

Rahul Gandhi's convoy collides with ambulance

Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi's convoy met with an accident on the Purvanchal Expressway in Uttar Pradesh on Monday.

Several people were injured after five vehicles in the convoy collided with an ambulance when Rahul was on the way to appear before the court.

Rahul was safe following the incident, while the injured included Congress party workers and security personnel.