Ranchi (Jharkhand) [India], June 11 (ANI): The Jharkhand High Court on Tuesday directed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to appear in a Chaibasa court on August 6 in connection with a defamation case over alleged derogatory remarks made against former BJP national president Amit Shah in 2018.

The court has stayed the non-bailable warrant (NBW) issued by the Chaibasa court against Gandhi until the next hearing. The case pertains to a complaint filed against Gandhi for his alleged remarks targeting Shah, who is now the Union Home Minister.

According to Advocate Vinod Kumar Sahu, the complainant in the case, 'Chaibasa court issued a non-bailable warrant against Rahul Gandhi. To avoid the same, a petition was filed by Rahul Gandhi in court today. The court said that this other place will have to be present. So his advocate said that no date suits him, so the court said the date which suits you tell us, so August 6 was decided. So, to get relief from NBW, he urged the court. The court asked to give one undertaking. Then, on behalf of Rahul Gandhi, his advocate gave an undertaking that on August 6, they will be present in the Chaibasa court and will support the court's work in the court. So, the court further orders that no arrest of Rahul Gandhi will be made till August 6.'

Vinod Kumar Sahu, the complainant's advocate, stated, 'The matter is that in 2018, Rahul Gandhi made a statement in the Congress session when he was the national president of the Congress, and at that time, Amit Shah was the national president of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He made a statement that no murderer can become the national president in Congress and that Congresspeople cannot accept any murderer as the national president. In the Bharatiya Janata Party, the killer can become the national president, and only people of the Bharatiya Janata Party can accept the murderer as national president. Affected by this, my client, BJP leader Pratap Kumar, had filed a defamation case against him. He was given a legal notice earlier. No reply was received, so a defamation case was filed, and based on sufficient evidence, the court summoned him.'

In 2018, Rahul Gandhi had said that a murderer can become president of the BJP, but this cannot happen in Congress. (ANI)