New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi yesterday told the Supreme Court that the allegation of gang rape and illegal confinement of an Uttar Pradesh woman against him was an attempt to defame him and tarnish his image.
The apex court bench of Justice B S Chauhan and Justice Swatanter Kumar was told that “this is defamation of worst kind, calculated to pollute Indian democracy”.
Appearing for Rahul Gandhi, senior counsel P P Rao told the court that the damage caused by the politically-motivated allegation and deliberate falsehood was “immense and immeasurable”.
Petitioner Kishore Smrite February 26, 2011 moved the Allahabad High Court alleging gang rape and illegal detention of a woman by Rahul and his friends during the Congress MP’s tour of his Amethi constituency in Uttar Pradesh during 2006. Rao told the court that Smrite was not only “ex-facie guilty of defamation, both civil and criminal, perjury and criminal but his plea” deserved to be dismissed with “exemplary cost”.
“Where was Rahul Gandhi on the date of the incident” in Amethi, Justice Swatanter Kumar asked Rao.
The senior counsel said that such a course was necessary to send “message to other unscrupulous politically-motivated persons all over the country not to abuse judicial process for political advantage”.
The court was hearing a petition by Smrite challenging the March 7, 2011 order of the high court by which his petition was dismissed, a CBI probe was ordered against him and a cost of Rs5m was imposed on him.
IANS
