Bharatiya Janata Party lawmaker and spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi filed a criminal defamation suit against Congress President Rahul Gandhi over his comments on the Rafale case earlier this week in the Supreme Court on Friday.
The spokesperson accused Mr. Gandhi used the words “Chowkidar Chor Hai (watchman is a thief)”, trying to prejudge the court proceedings.
Meenakshi Lekhi was represented by former attorney general Mukul Rohatgi in the court said that the Congress president made a remark that the “Supreme Court has said, chowkidaar chor hai” in the verdict.
The bench headed by the Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi will hear the suit on Monday.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court rejected the government’s arguments to reject considering the documents published by ‘The Hindu’ as evidence, siting secrecy and nature of procurement. After this verdict, the Supreme Court will review these fresh evidence, and revisit the clean chit given earlier to the government.
Rahul Gandhi who welcomed the Supreme Court verdict said, “The entire country is saying that chowkidar has committed theft. It is a day of celebration that the Supreme Court has talked about justice”.