The hearing in the MP-MLA court here in a case of defamation against Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi was on Thursday postponed due to unavailability of the complainant's lawyer.

Plaintiff Vijay Mishra's advocate Santosh Kumar Pandey cited several cases scheduled in different courts on Thursday, and sought additional time, which the court of special judge Shubham Verma accepted. The next hearing has now been set for September 21.

Gandhi has been accused of making objectionable comments during the 2018 Karnataka polls about Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was then the BJP president.

Mishra, a local BJP politician and former cooperative chairman, filed a complaint in August 2018. Since then, the matter has been ongoing in court.

During the "Bharat Jodo Yatra," Gandhi surrendered before the court on February 20, 2024, and was granted bail on personal surety bonds of Rs 25,000 each.

Following that, the court issued several notices for him to record his statement, but he was unable to appear during the Lok Sabha elections.

Subsequently, the court ordered him to present himself, leading to his appearance on July 26, when he recorded his statement in the MP-MLA court and said the case was filed to gain "cheap publicity".

Gandhi, who appeared before Special Judge Verma, said he never gave a statement against anyone which could lead to a case of defamation, his lawyer Kashi Prasad Shukla had told reporters.

The matter was posted for further proceedings on August 12, but deferred as the special judge was on leave.

On the next two dates of August 23 and September 5, the hearing did not take place as the plaintiff could not appear in the court citing ill health.

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