Rahul Gandhi Appears in Lucknow Court Over Army Defamation Case

Congress leader and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi arrived in Lucknow on Tuesday to attend a hearing at the city’s MP/MLA court in a criminal defamation case stemming from comments he allegedly made about the Indian Army in December 2022. The complaint, filed by retired soldier Uday Shankar Srivastava, accuses Gandhi of tarnishing the Army’s image by saying during the Bharat Jodo Yatra that Chinese troops had ‘beaten’ Indian soldiers in a border clash. The court declared Gandhi an accused on 11 February 2025 and ordered him to appear in person on 24 March 2025, but he missed five consecutive hearings, making Tuesday’s session the sixth attempt. Gandhi’s party says he will respect the judicial process and seek dismissal of the case, arguing the remarks were misconstrued. The hearing could determine whether the defamation proceedings move to trial or are quashed.