Varanasi: A Varanasi MP-MLA court will take up a review petition filed against Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Thursday.
The case pertains to remarks allegedly made by Rahul Gandhi during his visit to the United States in September 2024.
According to the complaint, he had questioned whether Sikhs in India would be permitted to wear turbans and kadas and whether he would be able to visit gurdwaras as a Sikh.
Objecting to the statement, Nageshwar Mishra, a resident of Tilmapur in the Sarnath area and a former village head, filed a complaint in connection with the remarks.
The complaint was initially dismissed on November 28, 2024, by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate IV Neeraj Tripathi. Challenging this order, Mishra moved a review petition before the MP-MLA court of the Sessions Court. After hearing the matter, Judge Yajuvendra Vikram Singh set aside the order passed by the ACJM.
Subsequently, Rahul Gandhi approached the Allahabad High Court by filing a criminal monitoring petition against the proceedings. However, the High Court dismissed his plea. On September 26, 2025, the High Court directed the lower court to reconsider and rehear the case.
Following the High Court’s direction, the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate IV once again dismissed the complaint on October 17, 2025. Contesting this fresh order, Nageshwar Mishra, through his counsel, filed another monitoring petition before the Sessions Court.
Acting on the petition, the court ordered that notice be issued to Rahul Gandhi in connection with both aspects of the matter.
The matter was originally scheduled for a hearing on January 29, but proceedings were deferred as MP-MLA Court Judge Yajuvendra Vikram Singh was assigned duty as the presiding officer for the Bar Council elections.
The review petition will now be heard later in the day.
(IANS)
