Rahul Gandhi has been granted bail in the criminal defamation suit filed against him by Ahmedabad District Cooperative Bank and its chairman Ajay Patel.
During the hearing, when the metropolitan court judge asked him if he accepts his crime, Rahul Gandhi said, “I am not a criminal.”
Rahul Gandhi was present for the defamation case hearing at the Ahmedabad Metropolitan Court.
The court granted Rahul Gandhi bail on a bond of Rs 15,000.
The defamation suit was filed last year after Gandhi and Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala claimed that the Ahmedabad District Cooperative Bank was involved in a “scam” to swap Rs 745.59 crore in swapped notes with valid currency within five days of demonetisation announcement on 8th November, 2016.
Union home minister Amit Shah is one of the directors of the ADC Bank.
The court issued summonses to the two leaders on April 9 after finding prima facie evidence against them.
The complainants said that the Congress leaders levelled “false and defamatory allegations” against the bank.
The court had conducted an inquiry under section 202 of the Code of Criminal Procedure before summoning Gandhi and Surjewala.
The section deals with inquiry to decide whether there is sufficient ground for proceeding against a person.
Gandhi and Surjewala’s allegations were based on the reply given by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development to an RTI query of a Mumbai-based activist.
ADCB and Patel have denied that the bank exchanged such a huge amount of swapped currency as alleged.
Defamation case: Rahul Gandhi granted bail on bond of Rs 15,000
