Rahul Gandhi Moves Jharkhand High Court to Cancel Non-Bailable Warrant Issued by Chaibasa Court

Ranchi: Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has approached the Jharkhand High Court seeking to cancel a Non-Bailable Warrant (NBW) issued against him by the Chaibasa MP-MLA special court in connection with a 2018 defamation case.

The warrant was issued on May 22, after Gandhi failed to appear before the court despite earlier summons. The Chaibasa court has directed him to appear in person on June 26.

Gandhi’s legal team argued that a plea under Section 205 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC)—which seeks exemption from personal appearance—is still pending before the Chaibasa court. Issuing a non-bailable warrant while that request remains undecided is legally flawed and premature, the petition said.

The case is based on a complaint filed on July 9, 2018, by Pratap Katiyar, a resident of Chaibasa. The complaint refers to a speech in which Rahul Gandhi allegedly said:
"No murderer can become the national president in the Congress. Congressmen cannot accept a murderer as the national president — this is possible only in the BJP."
The comment was widely believed to be aimed at Amit Shah, who was BJP's National President at the time.

The court initially issued a bailable warrant in April 2022, which Gandhi allegedly ignored. A non-bailable warrant followed in February 2024. Gandhi’s lawyers filed for exemption from personal appearance, but the trial court rejected the plea.

Rahul Gandhi then moved the Jharkhand High Court, which granted temporary relief. However, with the matter still pending, the lower court issued another non-bailable warrant, prompting Gandhi to file a fresh petition to have it quashed.

With inputs from IANS