Allahabad HC rebukes Rahul Gandhi: Free speech has limits; Army can't be defamed

NEW DELHI: The Allahabad high court rebuked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his alleged derogatory remarks on the Indian Army. A single judge-bench opined that though "Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution guarantees freedom of speech and expression," it is still subject to reasonable restrictions.The court further observed that Article 19 (1) (a) does not apply to statements which are "defamatory to the Indian Army".“No doubt, Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India guarantees freedom of speech and expression, this freedom is subject to the reasonable restrictions and it does not include the freedom to make statements which are defamatory to any person or defamatory to the Indian Army,” Justice Subhash Vidyarthi observed said during the hearing last week, as per LiveLaw.The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court on Thursday had dismissed Rahul Gandhi’s plea challenging a lower court summons over alleged derogatory remarks about the Indian Army.Justice Subhash Vidyarthi, who passed the order, said a detailed judgement would follow next week. The government’s legal team argued Gandhi’s plea was not maintainable, as he had the option to appeal to the sessions court.They claimed a prima facie case had been made based on the complaint and witness statements. Gandhi’s counsel, Pranshu Agarwal, argued the complaint was politically motivated and lacked merit.The case stems from a complaint filed by Udai Shanker Srivastava, who alleged Gandhi made disparaging comments during his Bharat Jodo Yatra.