Overview

• Justice Sameer Jain reserved judgment on Rahul Gandhi’s challenge to the Varanasi MP/MLA court’s 21 July order directing a fresh hearing on an FIR plea.
• The High Court kept the sessions court’s order in abeyance and directed the Varanasi magistrate not to proceed until the ruling is delivered.
• Varanasi resident Nageshwar Mishra alleged Gandhi made provocative remarks about Sikhs during a September 2024 event in the United States and sought an FIR.
• A magistrate dismissed the plea on 28 November 2024 citing extraterritorial jurisdiction issues, before a sessions court revived it for reconsideration.
• Gandhi’s counsel argued mens rea cannot be inferred from isolated lines and that the full speech must be considered, while the state said his office lends weight to divisive remarks.