SC says everyone is equal

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that “everyone is equal” before it while hearing a plea linked to a criminal defamation case against Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, made the observation after senior advocate Gaurav Bhatia, representing former Border Roads Organisation director Uday Shankar Srivastava, alleged that Gandhi was being treated as a “VVIP” by the court registry.

Bhatia told the court that Gandhi’s appeal had not been listed despite an earlier direction to hear the matter. The Supreme Court had directed in December 2025 that the case be listed for final hearing on April 22, 2026, but it was not taken up.

The bench asked Bhatia to follow the prescribed procedure and file an application seeking an early hearing. “Everyone is equal before us,” the bench said, making it clear that the established procedure should be followed.

The case concerns remarks made by Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in December 2022 regarding a clash between Indian and Chinese troops in Arunachal Pradesh. Former BRO director Srivastava filed a criminal defamation complaint, alleging that Gandhi’s remarks were false and had the potential to demoralise the Indian Army.

A Lucknow court subsequently summoned Gandhi in the case. The Allahabad High Court declined to quash the proceedings in May 2025, holding that Srivastava could maintain the complaint as an aggrieved person under the relevant provisions of the law.

Gandhi then approached the Supreme Court. In August 2025, another Supreme Court bench had stayed further proceedings and questioned the basis of Gandhi’s claim that Chinese troops had captured 2,000 square kilometres of Indian territory. The bench had also observed that matters concerning a border conflict should be raised in Parliament.

Gandhi has maintained that his comments were part of his right to free speech and were intended to draw public attention to issues that he believed were not receiving adequate discussion.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Bhatia also sought to have the case separated from a separate defamation matter involving The Wire, arguing that the two cases had been wrongly tagged together. The bench again directed him to use the appropriate procedure for seeking de-tagging and early listing.

Gandhi’s appeal has described the proceedings as “lawfare” and alleged that they were aimed at restricting his ability to criticise government policies. The Supreme Court is yet to decide the substantive legal issues raised in his petition.