A court in Ahmedabad has summoned Congress President Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case filed by a BJP member, accusing him of making derogatory statements against party President Amit Shah at an election rally in Madhya Pradesh last month.
The case was filed by BJP corporator Krishnavadan Brahmbhatt, who contended that the Congress chief's terming Amit Shah a "murder accused" at the rally was defamatory as well as false "because Amit Shah had been discharged honourably by the CBI court in January 2015" in Sohrabuddin Sheikh's death in an alleged fake encounter.
Issuing the summons, Metropolitan Magistrate DS Dabhi fixed the next hearing on July 9.
Mr Brahmbhatt's lawyer had argued that an Ahmedabad court could have jurisdiction even though Rahul Gandhi made the remarks in Madhya Pradesh, because the speech was televised nationally while city newspapers also reported it.
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world