Relief for Rahul Gandhi as Gauhati High Court Dismisses Plea for Additional Witnesses

In a significant legal victory for Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the Gauhati High Court on October 13, 2025, allowed his plea to block the examination of three additional witnesses in a 2016 defamation case filed against him in Assam. Justice Arun Dev Choudhury ruled that the complainant, Anjan Kumar Bora, failed to demonstrate the relevance of the additional witnesses, affirming the original magistrate’s decision to reject their inclusion. The court criticized the Additional Sessions Judge for overturning the magistrate’s order without sufficient grounds, calling the decision “mechanical” and lacking legal substance.

The defamation case stems from a complaint by Bora, who alleged that Gandhi made defamatory remarks in December 2015, claiming he was prevented from visiting Barpeta Satra, a site revered by “RSS people,” to gain political mileage ahead of the Assam elections. The Chief Judicial Magistrate in Kamrup (M), Guwahati, took cognizance under Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code, with six witnesses initially examined. After seven witnesses, including Bora, testified, the complainant sought to introduce three more, but the magistrate dismissed the request in 2023, a decision later reversed by the revisional court, prompting Gandhi’s appeal to the High Court.

Justice Choudhury’s ruling emphasized that the complainant’s grounds for additional witnesses were “too broad and general,” lacking a clear nexus to the case’s facts. The High Court upheld the magistrate’s reasoned order, directing the lower court to expedite proceedings given Gandhi’s status as a sitting Member of Parliament, in line with Supreme Court directives in Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay vs. Union of India. This decision marks a critical step in resolving the long-standing case, which has drawn attention for its political undertones.

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The legal battle saw Senior Counsel AM Bora, assisted by Advocate VA Choudhury, representing Gandhi, while Public Prosecutor K Gogoi appeared for the State, and Advocates BK Mahajan and N Mahajan represented the complainant. As the case returns to the magistrate for swift disposal, it underscores the delicate interplay of free speech, political rhetoric, and legal accountability in Assam’s charged political landscape.

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