Bengaluru, Jun 15 (IANS): The Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court, a special court set up for matters related to elected representatives in Bengaluru, has issued summons to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar in connection with a defamation case filed by the BJP.

BJP state Secretary S. Keshavaprasad had on May 9 filed a defamation case against Rahul Gandhi, Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar over advertisements published by the Congress during election campaigning for the state Assembly polls.

The special court took cognizance of the charges in the petition under IPC Sections 499 and 500. The matter has been adjourned to July 27.

The petition was filed over allegations levelled against the BJP by the Congress over 40 per cent commission scam. The petitioner claimed that the charges were "baseless, defamatory and prejudiced".

The advertisements spoke about alleged PSI recruitment scam, Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) scam and reported scandals at Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).

The Congress had also ran a campaign against then Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government and claimed that during his regime, Rs 1.50 lakh crore was looted.

The BJP had also filed a complaint in this matter with the Election Commission of India (ECI).