The complainant in the defamation case related to Union Home Minister Amit Shah said he would challenge the Monday verdict of a special MP-MLA court in UP’s Sultanpur acquitting Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi.

After the court acquitted Gandhi in the case registered under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), complainant Vijay Mishra said he would challenge the decision before an appellate court after obtaining a certified copy of the order and seeking legal advice.

Santosh Pandey, counsel for the complainant, said the court did not consider Mishra an aggrieved person in the case and also did not find Gandhi’s remark to be defamatory.

Gandhi reached the special MP-MLA court in Sultanpur at around 11.10 a.m. on Monday. Security arrangements were tightened on the court premises ahead of the verdict, and the courtroom door was closed after Gandhi entered.

Earlier, Congress workers had gathered near Kurebhar on the Purvanchal Expressway to welcome him.

According to Pandey, the court considered three key aspects while delivering its verdict. He said the court accepted the CD submitted by the complainant as proven evidence but did not recognise Mishra as an aggrieved person in the matter. It also did not find Gandhi’s statement to be defamatory and acquitted him of the charges.

Pandey said the complainant’s side had not yet received a certified copy of the judgment. Once the order becomes available, it will be examined legally before a decision is taken on the next course of action.

Mishra also said he would study the judgment through his lawyer after obtaining a certified copy and subsequently approach an appellate court after consulting legal experts.

He added that he had been pursuing the case continuously since filing it in 2018.

The case relates to an alleged remark made by Gandhi during a press conference in Bengaluru in May 2018, during campaigning for the Karnataka Assembly elections. At the time, HM Shah was the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President.

Mishra alleged that Gandhi had used the word “murderer” while referring to Shah during the press conference, thereby damaging the reputation of the BJP and its workers.

At the time, Mishra was a BJP district Vice-President and Chairman of the Sultanpur District Cooperative Bank. He filed a defamation complaint against Gandhi on August 4, 2018, citing a CD of the alleged statement as evidence.

The proceedings initially began before a civil court before the case was transferred to the special MP-MLA court, which deals with cases involving Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assemblies.

The court issued a summons to Gandhi on November 27, 2023. He appeared before it on February 20, 2024, and was granted bail against two personal bonds of Rs 25,000 each. Gandhi had denied the allegations at the time.

During the trial, the complainant’s side recorded the statements of Mishra, Anil Mishra, and Ramchand Dubey. Mishra also sought permission to obtain Gandhi’s voice sample and compare it with the recording on the CD. However, the trial court rejected the request.

A 60-year-old man and his 33-year-old son died after two slabs of a building collapsed at Milan Garden in the Harsh Vihar area of Northeast Delhi, officials said on Monday.

The deceased have been identified as Chanderpal, 60, son of the late Nanak Chand, and his son Vijay Kumar, 33, residents of Gali No. 14 in Harsh Vihar.

According to officials, the two men were trapped under the debris after the building collapsed on Sunday evening.

During the overnight rescue operation, both were pulled out from beneath the rubble and rushed to Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital, where doctors declared them brought dead.

Two fire brigade vehicles, two ambulances and a crane were deployed at the site to assist in the rescue operation. Civil Defence volunteers and a team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) also reached the spot.

Rescue teams cleared the debris and searched the collapsed structure to locate those trapped underneath. The operation continued overnight as emergency personnel worked to remove the rubble.

The incident occurred when a new floor was being constructed above an old house. During the construction work, a portion of the existing roof reportedly gave way, causing the slab above it to collapse as well.

The Delhi Fire Service (DFS) had earlier said that it received information about the incident at 6.40 p.m. on Sunday, following which two fire tenders were dispatched to the spot.

Delhi Cabinet Ministers Kapil Mishra and Ashish Sood also visited the site to assess the situation.

Officials said the rescue operation was still underway and that legal action under the relevant provisions of law was being initiated.

Further investigation into the incident is in progress to ascertain the circumstances that led to the collapse.

The incident has raised concerns over safety during construction work, with authorities investigating the cause of the collapse.

Earlier in October, a portion of a multi-storied building collapsed in north Delhi’s Seemapuri area, with many feared trapped under the debris, officials said.

The Delhi Fire Service had sent two fire vehicles to the spot.

Delhi Police have arrested a 72-year-old woman in connection with the theft of a foreign national’s bag from a shop in Paharganj and recovered Rs 1,85,500 in Indian currency and $2,600 from her possession, officials said on Monday.

According to the police, the accused, identified as Savita Gandhi, alias Saroj Gandhi, was arrested on October 24 from Uttam Nagar in West Delhi. She allegedly stole the bag while the foreign national was shopping in Paharganj.

The incident came to light on October 21, when the foreign national lodged an online complaint regarding the theft.

The stolen bag contained a passport, visa documents, $2,600, Rs 2.5 lakh in Indian currency, three credit cards and a Samsung mobile phone.

Following the complaint, the staff of Police Post Sangatrashan, under Paharganj police station, launched an investigation to identify the accused and recover the stolen belongings.

A dedicated police team comprising SI Sahil, W/SI Khaiko Asune, HC Bhageerath, HC Niranjan, W/Ct Mohini Bharti and Ct Lalit was constituted under the leadership of SI S.N. Ojha, in-charge of Police Post Sangatrashan. The team worked under the supervision of the Station House Officer (SHO), Paharganj, and the overall supervision of the ACP, Paharganj.

During the investigation, police analysed footage from more than 100 CCTV cameras installed in and around the area. Human intelligence and information developed through local sources also helped investigators identify the suspect.

After establishing her identity, the team gathered information about her whereabouts with the assistance of informers and by coordinating with investigating officers who had arrested her in previous cases.

Acting on the information, the police conducted a raid and apprehended the accused in Uttam Nagar on October 24.

The stolen Indian currency and US dollars were subsequently recovered from her possession. Police said the clothes she wore at the time of the offence were also recovered.

During interrogation, the accused allegedly admitted to her involvement in the theft.

According to the police, she is a habitual offender with 14 previous criminal involvements, including cases registered at several police stations in Delhi. She was also recently released from Tihar Jail.

Police further said that the accused allegedly used her senior-citizen appearance to avoid suspicion while committing thefts. The details regarding the opening of her history sheet and a proposal for her externment are being verified.

A case has been registered under FIR No. 80090378/26 under Section 305 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Paharganj police station.

Further legal proceedings are underway.