SC raps Rahul for army remark but stays proceedings

The Supreme Court on Monday pulled up Congress leader and Lok Sabha leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi for his remarks about the Indian Army during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in December 2022, remarking that "a true Indian will not say all this," even as it stayed criminal defamation proceedings against him.

- Abraham Thomas

Rebuking Gandhi for his comments against the Indian Army, the apex court questioned Gandhi's choice of words and the platform he used to make his contentious statement.

The court was hearing Gandhi’s challenge to a May 29 Allahabad High Court order that refused to quash a trial court's summons in a defamation case. The proceedings arose from Gandhi's December 2022 comment during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, where he alleged the Chinese Army “captured 2,000 sq km of Indian territory,” and “thrashed our jawans in Arunachal Pradesh.

A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih ordered a stay on further trial court proceedings, but not before grilling Gandhi over his public remarks.

“Why do you have to say this in media or social media posts? Were you there? How did you get to know that 2,000 sq km has been captured?" the bench asked Gandhi's lawyer, senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi, pointedly questioning the basis of Gandhi's statement.