Karnataka High Court quashes defamation proceedings against Rahul Gandhi – India Legal

The Karnataka Excessive Courtroom has put aside legal defamation proceedings initiated in opposition to Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, holding that permitting the case to proceed would quantity to an abuse of the method of legislation.

The case stemmed from marketing campaign materials circulated throughout the 2023 Karnataka Meeting elections, through which the Congress get together had referred to allegations of a “40 per cent fee” beneath the then BJP-led State authorities. A criticism was subsequently filed by members of the Bharatiya Janata Social gathering, claiming that the statements had been defamatory.

Gandhi approached the Excessive Courtroom searching for quashing of the proceedings. After analyzing the fabric on file, the Courtroom concluded that the important components required to maintain a legal defamation cost weren’t adequately made out. It noticed that persevering with the prosecution in such circumstances would serve no legit authorized goal and would as a substitute represent a misuse of the judicial course of.

In its ruling, the Courtroom emphasised that legal legislation can’t be permitted to function as a instrument for harassment the place the foundational necessities of an offence are absent. Consequently, the proceedings in opposition to Gandhi had been quashed, bringing the matter to an in depth on the Excessive Courtroom degree.

The choice reinforces the precept that courts retain inherent powers to intervene the place litigation seems vexatious or legally untenable, guaranteeing that judicial mechanisms should not deployed for functions past their meant scope.