Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Jun 10: A special MP/MLA court in Varanasi has permitted a fresh hearing on a complaint seeking criminal proceedings against Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over alleged remarks describing Lord Ram as a “fictional” figure during an interaction in the United States.
The order was passed by Additional District and Sessions Judge (MP/MLA) Yajuvendra Vikram Singh, who allowed a criminal revision petition filed by advocate Harishankar Pandey. The court set aside an earlier ruling by the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM), which had dismissed the complaint at the initial stage, holding it to be not maintainable.
The revisional court observed that the Magistrate had rejected the complaint prematurely without giving the complainant an opportunity to be heard. It directed that the matter be reconsidered afresh in accordance with legal provisions under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
According to the court order, the alleged statement by Rahul Gandhi was made during an interaction at Brown University in the United States and not within parliamentary proceedings, and therefore required proper judicial examination.
The complainant had argued that sanction from Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla was necessary before initiating proceedings against a sitting Member of Parliament. However, the revision court held that this question must be assessed appropriately at the stage of fresh consideration.
In the complaint, Pandey alleged that Gandhi’s remarks constituted offences under Sections 196, 351 and 353 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), claiming that the statements hurt religious sentiments and promoted social discord. It was further alleged that during the April 21, 2025 interaction at Brown University in Boston, Gandhi referred to Lord Ram as a “mythological and fictional character.”
The ACJM had earlier dismissed the plea on May 27, stating that the complaint could not proceed without prior sanction from the Lok Sabha Speaker.
Following the new order, the matter will now be reheard by the lower court, which has been directed to examine the complaint afresh in accordance with legal procedure.
The original petition also named the All India Congress Committee (AICC), alleging that the organisation could not distance itself from the statements attributed to its senior leader.