New Delhi

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Monday met with his legal team involved in the case after a Special MP/MLA Court in Sultanpur acquitted him in a defamation case.

Rahul Gandhi also met other senior Congress leaders.

Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Shubham Verma dismissed the 2018 criminal defamation lawsuit against Gandhi, ruling that his controversial remarks made during the 2018 Karnataka Assembly campaign were not defamatory in nature.

The phrase "murder accused" cited during the 2018 campaign exchange pertained to the 2005 Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case in Gujarat.

While Union Home Minister Amit Shah was initially named as an accused in the case during earlier investigative stages, a Special CBI Court in Mumbai completely discharged Amit Shah of all charges in December 2014.

Congress has welcomed the decision in the defamation case. General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal told reporters, "Truth will prevail. Whenever Rahul Gandhi speaks the truth, BJP members attack him. However, it is now established that truth cannot fail; it will always prevail. This is what the court judgment confirms."

Uttar Pradesh Congress President Aradhana Mishra Mona termed it as truth triumphing over falsehood.

"This is a victory for the faith of our leader, Rahul Gandhi. We had complete trust in our judiciary; the truth cannot be suppressed for long—the truth remains the truth, and it always triumphs over falsehood. Today, that is exactly what happened: truth has prevailed over a lie,” she said.

Congress leader Sachin Pilot said, "This fair and correct decision by the judiciary marks a victory for the truth. There have always been attempts to implicate Rahul Gandhi, but the verdict delivered by the judiciary this time is welcome, and it represents a victory for justice."

Advocate Kashi Prasad Shukla, representing Rahul Gandhi, also welcomed the court's decision, highlighting the court's finding that the complainant lacked legal standing.

"Rahul Gandhi has been acquitted in this case. The court determined that the complainant, Vijay Mishra, did not qualify as an aggrieved person,” Advocate Shukla told ANI.

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“Since we have not yet been able to review the full text of the judgment, we are currently expressing our happiness over the fact that Rahul Gandhi has been acquitted. As for the specific reasoning or the grounds upon which the case was dismissed, we cannot provide full details until we have the complete judgment," he added.