Allahabad HC denies relief to Rahul Gandhi: ‘No freedom to make defamatory remarks on Indian Army’

Noting that freedom of speech and expression does not include the right to make defamatory statements about the Indian Army, the Allahabad High Court has rejected Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi’s appeal in a defamation case regarding his purported comments.

A panel led by Justice Subhash Vidyarthi denied Gandhi’s request regarding a challenge to the summons he received from an MP MLA court in Lucknow in February of this year. “No doubt, Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India guarantees freedom of speech and expression, this freedom is subject to the reasonable restrictions and it does not include the freedom to make statements which are defamatory to any person or defamatory to the Indian Army,” the court observed.

The defamation filed by Border Roads Organisation director Uday Shankar Shrivastava pertains to the alleged remarks made by Rahul Gandhi on December 16, 2022, during the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

The complainant claimed that Gandhi repeatedly and derogatorily remarked that the Chinese military is ‘beating’ our troops in Arunachal Pradesh, asserting that the Indian media will not pose any inquiries about this. Gandhi approached the High Court arguing that the complainant was not an Indian Army officer and that he had not made any defamatory statement about the complainant.

The court, however, dismissed Gandhi’s argument that according to Section 199(1) Cr.P.C., someone other than the immediate victim of a crime can also qualify as an “aggrieved person” if they are affected by the crime.

The bench observed that in this instance, a former Director of the Border Roads Organisation, who holds a rank similar to that of a Colonel, had submitted a complaint regarding purportedly disparaging remarks directed at the Indian Army, expressing his profound respect for the Army and feeling hurt by the alleged comment.

Significantly, the Supreme Court had previously chastised Gandhi in a comparable case. Although the supreme court had paused actions against Gandhi, it warned him to refrain from making any more reckless statements going forward.