Jabalpur/New Delhi, June 25 (IANS) The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Thursday closed defamation proceedings against Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi after he expressed regret over remarks made during the 2018 Madhya Pradesh Assembly election campaign that allegedly linked Kartikey Singh Chouhan, son of Union Agriculture Minister and former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, to the Panama Papers controversy.

A single-judge bench of Justice Pramod Kumar Agrawal ordered the closure of proceedings pending before the High Court as well as the criminal defamation complaint pending before the MP-MLA court in Bhopal.

The court noted LoP Rahul Gandhi’s expression of regret and Kartikey Singh Chouhan’s submission that he did not wish to pursue the matter further.

The court said in its order that, considering the statement of the applicant, wherein regret has been expressed, the proceedings before this court are closed and proceedings pending before the JMFC, Special Judge (MP & MLA), complaint case no. SCPPM No. 03/2018, Bhopal, shall also stand closed.

The case originated from a speech delivered by LoP Rahul Gandhi during an election rally in Jhabua in 2018. Kartikey Singh Chouhan subsequently filed a criminal defamation complaint, alleging that the Congress leader’s remarks had harmed his reputation by linking him to the Panama Papers leak controversy.

During the hearing, LoP Rahul Gandhi submitted an affidavit stating that Kartikey’s name had been mentioned inadvertently due to a misunderstanding. He also informed the court that he had issued a clarification soon after the speech, explaining that he had intended to refer to Abhishek Singh, son of former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh.

Counsel representing Kartikey Singh Chouhan told the court that LoP Rahul Gandhi had acknowledged the mistake and expressed regret. In view of this, the complainant had no objection to the closure of the proceedings.

Reacting to the verdict, Rajya Sabha MP and senior advocate Vivek Tankha, who represented LoP Rahul Gandhi’s case in the court, said that publicly admitting a mistake reflected honesty and integrity.

Tankha said that publicly admitting a mistake is the hallmark of a genuine and honest person, and added that LoP Rahul Gandhi is a person of spiritual values who follows the path of truth and therefore remains fearless and mentally strong in every situation.

Tankha, along with Senior Advocate Ajay Gupta and advocates Aishwarya Sahu and Rajeev Mishra, represented LoP Rahul Gandhi before the High Court.

With the complainant accepting LoP Rahul Gandhi’s expression of regret and seeking no further action, the court’s order has brought an end to a legal dispute that originated in the 2018 Assembly election campaign in Madhya Pradesh.

–IANS

pd/dan