‘Abuse of legal process’: Karnataka High Court quashes BJP’s 2023 defamation case against Rahul Gandhi over ‘corruption rate card’ ads

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar were also named in the case registered under sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The Karnataka BJP filed a complaint with the magistrate’s court after alleged “Corruption Rate Card” advertisements were published in a newspaper, claiming that various government posts and transfers under the then-BJP government carried fixed “rates” and “commissions”. The BJP alleged that the advertisement was defamatory, false, and based on “fanciful imagination”.

The court took cognisance of the matter, and issued a summons.

Senior Advocate Shashi Kiran Shetty, who appeared for Gandhi, argued that the complaint did not disclose any material linking the Congress leader to the publication in question. Shetty also contended that the advertisement was not against the BJP but against the then government in power. He also pointed out that the complaint against Gandhi and others was not filed by the Karnataka Government, but by the state BJP, thus a third-party complaint was not maintainable.

Shetty also pointed out to the court that in 2023, Gandhi was neither a Member of Parliament nor held any party position. He further contended that the summons issued by the magistrate suffered from “non-application of mind”. Shetty also said there was no evidence showing Gandhi’s participation in authorising the advertisement, and no material establishing mens rea.

Advocate Vinod Kumar M, representing the Karnataka BJP, opposed Gandhi’s petition, submitting that the allegations in the advertisement clearly targeted the party, which was then in power. Further, he submitted that although the advertisement did not explicitly name the party, its content was clearly directed at it, thereby giving the BJP locus to file the complaint.