Bombay High Court rejects Rahul Gandhi's bid to cancel 2019 defamation summons

The Bombay High Court, sitting as a single bench under Justice N R Borkar, refused to set aside a summons issued to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in 2019, related to a defamation complaint over his "commander-in-thief" comment about Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The bench found no perversity or illegality in the lower magistrate's order and therefore dismissed Gandhi's petition. However, the court maintained its November 2021 order that the magistrate defer the hearing for six weeks, giving Gandhi time to seek leave from the Supreme Court.

The complaint was lodged by M H Shrishrimal, who alleged that Gandhi's September 2018 speech in Rajasthan and a subsequent video posted on X amounted to accusations of theft against the prime minister and BJP members. Gandhi's counsel, Sudeep Pasbola and Kushal Mor, contended that Shrishrimal had no standing to file the case. The magistrate's original order remains in force pending any further appellate action.