Bengaluru court grants bail to Rahul Gandhi in defamation case

NEW DELHI: A Bengaluru special court on Friday granted bail to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the defamation case filed by the Karnataka BJP unit. The case concerns allegedly defamatory advertisements published in mainstream newspapers.
Early in the morning, Gandhi was seen at the Delhi airport, leaving for Bengaluru to appear for the case.
The BJP's complaint alleged that advertisements in local newspapers and "false campaigning" by Congress ahead of the 2023 state assembly elections damaged the BJP's image.The case was registered against the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), CM Siddaramaiah, deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar, and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
The court granted bail on June 1 to chief minister Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress chief, after they appeared in connection with the defamation case.
Judge K N S Shivakumar had directed Rahul Gandhi to appear before the court on June 7 without fail
The Karnataka Congress announced earlier, that Rahul will appear before the city civil court at 10:30am. After this, he will meet with Congress party's newly elected MPs from the state and defeated candidates at Bharat Jodo Bhavan on Queens Road at 11:30am. Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister and KPCC president DK Shivakumar will also be present, according to the party's state unit.