Rahul Gandhi files reply in defamation case linked to Hathras gangrape case

Hathras (UP): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has filed his reply in a revision petition challenging the dismissal of a defamation complaint against him over his remarks during a visit to Hathras' Boolgarhi village, a lawyer said on Friday.

The next hearing in the matter is scheduled for December 7.

The court had earlier issued a notice to Gandhi after admitting the revision petition against an order passed on May 13 by the MP/MLA court of Additional Civil Judge (Senior Division) Deepak Nath Saraswati, which had dismissed the complaint.


The matter is now being heard by the court of Additional District Judge Vijay Kumar Dwivedi (II), MP/MLA Court No 5.

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The case relates to the 2020 Boolgarhi incident, in which three men - Ravi, Ram Kumar, alias Ramu, and Luvkush - were arrested on rape charges but later acquitted.

Advocate Munna Singh Pundir, representing the three men, said three separate complaints were filed against Gandhi on their behalf.

Pundir alleged that although Sandeep was initially named as an accused in the case, three other youths were also framed at the instance of the victim's family.

The CBI investigated the case for around two-and-a-half years, during which the three men remained in jail, he said.

After their acquittal, Gandhi visited Boolgarhi village on December 12, 2024, and allegedly remarked that the accused were roaming free while the victim's family was confined to their home, Pundir said.

He claimed that the remarks were found insulting by the three men, who subsequently sent Gandhi a legal notice seeking Rs 1.5 crore in damages, or Rs 50 lakh each.

After Gandhi did not comply with the notice, a defamation complaint was filed before the ACJM court, the lawyer said.

Pundir said Gandhi's counsel filed a reply in the court on Friday, but since the presiding judge was on leave, the matter was posted for next month.