Sultanpur: A special MP-MLA court in Sultanpur will pronounce its verdict on Monday in a defamation case against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his alleged objectionable remarks against then BJP president Amit Shah in 2018.

Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Raebareli MP, is required to appear before the court in person on October 26, the complainant’s counsel Santosh Kumar Pandey said.

Additional Civil Judge, Shubham Verma, had fixed the date for pronouncement of the verdict on October 13.

The case relates to alleged objectionable remarks made by Gandhi against Shah, who was then BJP’s national president, during an election campaign in Bengaluru in 2018.

BJP leader Vijay Mishra, a former chairman of the district cooperative bank, filed the defamation complaint against Gandhi on August 4, 2018.

The court summoned Gandhi to face trial on November 27, 2023. The Congress leader subsequently appeared before the court and secured bail.

Mishra later sought a comparison of Gandhi’s voice sample. The trial court rejected his application, and the sessions court dismissed his revision petition against the order. The Allahabad High Court also dismissed his petition challenging the decisions of the two courts.