Rahul Gandhi granted bail in defamation case

Gandhi, a 53-year-old Congress leader, has faced a number of legal cases brought by members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and was temporarily disqualified from parliament last year after being convicted in a defamation case.

He was one of several top opposition leaders to face criminal proceedings in cases claimed to be politically motivated by the Modi government.

Gandhi did not have to spend his life in custody on that charge.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said while talking to AFP, 'He was granted bail during the five-minute procedural hearing on whether he will remain free or not.'

Two other senior Congress leaders from Karnataka state were granted bail last week.

Gandhi was sentenced to two years in jail in a separate case in Gujarat last year in 2023, but hearing an appeal in the Supreme Court of India, the decision was made that he should not be jailed.

Although the sentence forced the opposition leader to be disqualified from parliament for some time, but after the Supreme Court's decision, the charges against him were suspended and he was reinstated as a member of parliament.

Modi and the BJP won the nationwide elections on Friday, and the verdict in the case came on Friday. Due to low majority, BJP is forced to depend on alliance partners.

Critics have accused Prime Minister Modi and his party of using the justice system to target political rivals.

American think tank Freedom House has noted that the BJP has 'increasingly used government institutions to target political rivals'.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is also a member of the grand opposition coalition led by the Congress, was jailed this year in connection with a corruption investigation.

Kejriwal was temporarily granted bail last month, which allowed him to campaign in the elections, but he has returned to custody after the polls.