Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi File
| Photo Credit: PTI
A Special Court in Varanasi on Wednesday (June 10, 2026) set aside a Magistrate Court order that declined a plea seeking registration of an FIR against Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over remarks allegedly made by him about Hindu god Ram during an interaction in the United States in 2025.
Stating that the complaint warranted fresh consideration, Additional District and Sessions Judge (MP/MLA court) Yajuvendra Vikram Singh allowed a revision petition filed by advocate Hari Shankar Pandey and directed the Magistrate concerned to reconsider the complaint.
A detailed order in the matter is awaited.
The petitioner accused Mr. Gandhi of referring to Lord Ram as a “mythological and fictional character” and stated that the comment deeply hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus and hence amounted to hate speech.
The advocate in his plea had argued that the Congress leader’s comments became even more despicable since the Supreme Court of India, had in its Ram Janmabhoomi dispute judgment, recognised the existence of Shri Ram Lalla. He also mentioned the recent oral remarks made by the Supreme Court expressing disapproval of Mr. Gandhi’s comments against V. D. Savarkar.
The advocate approached the ADJ court after the magistrate court declined his plea in May 2025.
Published – June 11, 2026 02:00 am IST
