Ranchi, June 11: Jharkhand High Court has stayed the arrest of Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and former Congress national president Rahul Gandhi.
Hearing the petition of Congress senior leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday, the Jharkhand High Court has directed Rahul Gandhi to appear before the lower court by August 6. Also, the court has stayed the non-bailable warrant till August 6.
In fact, a non-bailable warrant has been issued against Lok Sabha MP Rahul Gandhi by the MP-MLA Special Court of Chaibasa Civil Court which has been challenged in the High Court.
Rahul Gandhi has filed a petition in the Jharkhand High Court to cancel the non-bailable warrant issued by the Chaibasa Court.
The case is related to Rahul Gandhi’s speech during a Congress convention against the BJP on 28 March 2018. Finding the speech derogatory, the BJP leader Pratap Kumar had filed a defamation case against Rahul Gandhi in the Chaibasa court. On 20 February 2020, the Jharkhand High Court transferred the case to the special court of MP/MLA in Ranchi.
Later, the High Court sent this case to the Special Court of Chaibasa. Despite receiving multiple summons, Rahul Gandhi has not appeared in court so far. Then again, a bailable warrant was sent from the court. Despite this, Rahul Gandhi did not appear, prompting the court to issue a non-bailable warrant against him.
Earlier, a non-bailable warrant was issued against Gandhi by the Chaibasa court ordering him to appear in the court on June 26.
On May 22, 2025, the Chaibasa Court had issued a non-bailable warrant against Rahul Gandhi, directing him to appear in person on June 26. Earlier, his counsel had filed an application under Section 205 of the CrPC seeking exemption from personal appearance, but the court had rejected the plea and insisted on his presence. his petition was rejected, Gandhi moved the High Court against the lower court’s order.
