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Updated: Sep 07, 2019 18:15 IST

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi though his legal team has filed an application of exemption from appearing in a Ahmedabad court during hearing on Saturday in connection with the Ahmedabad District Cooperative Bank (ADCB) criminal defamation case against him.

The former Congress president also sought certain documents from the bank to defend his allegation that ADCB swapped Rs 750 crore in scrapped currency with valid notes within five days of the demonetization announcement on November 8, 2016.

The court has been adjourned till October 11.

“We have asked for time from the court to file the bank’s reply. The court has also observed that Rahul Gandhi cannot have access to the documents. The exemption application, along with the bank’s reply, will be heard on the next date of hearing on October 11’’, said ADCB counsel S V Raju.

On July 12, Rahul Gandhi while attending the first hearing was granted bail after he pleaded not guilty. The suit has been filed by the Ahmedabad District Cooperative Bank, in which Union Home Minister Amit Shah is one of the directors and its chairman Ajay Patel.

The case has been heard by the court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate N B Munshi.

The defamation suit was filed last year following a tweet by the Congress leader.

ADC Bank and Patel dragged Rahul Gandhi to court saying he had tweeted “false and defamatory allegations”.

The bank has also filed a suit against Congress national spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala. On Saturday, Surjewala also filed an application for exemption from appearing.

The court had conducted an inquiry under Section 202 of the Code of Criminal Procedure before issuing summons to Rahul Gandhi and Surjewala on April 9.

The section deals with inquiry to decide whether there is sufficient ground for proceeding against a person.

Rahul 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.