A court at Bhiwandi in Thane district which is hearing a case of alleged defamation filed by an RSS worker against Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said it would pass order on the Congress leader's plea seeking permanent exemption from appearance on March 4.

Gandhi has sought exemption on the ground that he is a resident of Delhi and Lok Sabha member, and the trial can proceed in his absence as he would be represented by his lawyer.

Advocate Narayan Iyer, who represents Gandhi, argued for exemption before Judicial Magistrate First Class L C Wadikar.

Rajesh Kunte, a local worker of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, in 2014 filed the case against Rahul Gandhi over the latter's speech in Bhiwandi on March 6, 2014, where he alleged that the RSS was behind the killing of Mahatma Gandhi.

Gandhi allegedly said at the election campaign rally that "the RSS people had killed (Mahatma) Gandhi." Kunte claimed that the statement slandered the reputation of the RSS.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.