Ahmedabad: Local BJP corporator Krishnavadan Brahmbhatt had filed a criminal defamation suit against Rahul Gandhi in the Ahmedabad Metropolitan Court.
On Friday, his lawyer submitted an exemption application, saying Gandhi could not attend the hearing as he was to attend some crucial party meetings, including that of the Congress Working Committee in Delhi on Friday and Saturday.
Brahmbhatt's lawyer Ajita Jadeja argued while finalising the exclusion application as there was no evidence that this meeting was held or not.
However, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate R B Italiya granted the request, saying that it was only the first hearing.
The judge ordered Gandhi to remain present on October 11.
The court also questioned the petitioner's lawyer about why the case was filed in Ahmedabad when the controversial statement about Shah was made in Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh.
Brahmbhatt has alleged that at an election rally in Jabalpur on April 23, Gandhi said, "murder-accused BJP chief Amit Shah, wah, kya shaan hai (how glorious)!".
"This was slanderous as Shah was acquitted in the Sohrabuddin Shaikh fake encounter case in 2015," the complainant said.
