.jpeg)
Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday pleaded not guilty in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) defamation case at Bhiwandi court in Maharashtra. The court framed charges against the Congress President and even allowed a summons trial to take place in connection with the matter. The defamation case was filed by RSS worker, in 2014, against Gandhi who had in a speech allegedly claimed that the RSS was responsible for the murder of Mahatma Gandhi.
"The RSS people had killed (Mahatma) Gandhi," the Congress President had reportedly said at an election rally. On Tuesday, Gandhi appeared before the Bhiwandi court at 11 am, where the judge read out the charges and said, “You defamed complainant's organisation that is RSS and said that RSS ke logon ne goli maari aur Sardar Patel ne likha hai (RSS worker fired the short and Sardar Patel had written that). The reputation of complainant and organisation was harmed... do you plead guilty?”
“I plead not guilty,” Rahul Gandhi told the court.
With his admission of non-guilt, the Congress President now stands to face trial in the court in connection with the case. Charges against Gandhi have been framed sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code. The next hearing of the case has been slated for August 10.