SC Says ‘All Are Treated Equally’ Over Delay in Rahul Gandhi Defamation Case

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said “all are treated equally” after the complainant’s lawyer alleged that a defamation case against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had not been listed for hearing despite an earlier judicial direction.

The top court was hearing Gandhi’s petition challenging the May 29, 2025 order of the Allahabad High Court, which had dismissed his plea against a trial court’s decision to summon him in the case. The complaint relates to allegedly derogatory remarks Gandhi is accused of making against the Indian Army during his 2022 Bharat Jodo Yatra. Gandhi has denied the allegations.

On August 4 last year, the Supreme Court had stayed further proceedings in the complaint pending before a Lucknow court until the next date of hearing. On December 4, it admitted Gandhi’s appeal and said the matter would be heard in detail. The case was subsequently listed for April 22.

On Wednesday, applications seeking an early hearing in two separate pending petitions concerning another defamation case came before a bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana. The two petitions had earlier been tagged with Gandhi’s plea.

Senior advocate Gaurav Bhatia, appearing for complainant Udai Shankar Srivastava, sought an early hearing and requested that Gandhi’s case be de-tagged from the other matters.

Bhatia argued that the case had not been listed despite an earlier order directing it to be heard. He also said Gandhi should not receive special treatment because of his political position. The bench directed Bhatia to file an appropriate application seeking an early hearing, making clear that the matter would be considered according to procedure.

The Supreme Court had earlier issued notices to the Uttar Pradesh government and Srivastava seeking their responses to Gandhi’s plea. Before the trial court, Srivastava had alleged that Gandhi made remarks concerning clashes between Indian and Chinese soldiers. Gandhi’s counsel has argued that the trial court failed to properly examine the facts and material before summoning him for defamation.