Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has expressed regret before the Madhya Pradesh High Court over an allegedly defamatory statement linking Kartikeya Singh Chouhan, son of Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, to the Panama Papers controversy, marking the third known instance of a court-side apology or expression of regret by the Leader of Opposition.
The development came during the hearing of a petition filed by Gandhi before the Jabalpur bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, where he has sought exemption from personal appearance in a criminal defamation case pending before a special court in Bhopal.
Kartikeya Singh Chouhan had filed the defamation complaint after Gandhi, while addressing an election rally in Jhabua ahead of the 2018 Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls, allegedly claimed that Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s son was named in the Panama Papers disclosures.
In an application submitted through his counsel, Gandhi stated that the remark was made in error and was not intended to refer to Kartikeya Singh Chouhan.
His lawyer informed the court that Gandhi had mistakenly confused the names and was referring to public allegations then being discussed against former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh and his son, and not Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s family.
The application further stated that Gandhi had withdrawn the statement the very next day after realising the mistake and regretted any hurt caused by the remark.
The case has remained pending for several years after Kartikeya Singh initiated defamation proceedings in Bhopal. During the latest hearing, Gandhi’s written statement expressing regret was placed before the High Court.
The episode adds another chapter to a series of legal controversies arising from Gandhi’s political speeches and campaign remarks.
His first major apology before a court came in 2019 during the Rafale contempt proceedings in the Supreme Court. The matter stemmed from Gandhi’s “chowkidar chor hai” slogan directed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Rafale fighter aircraft controversy.
BJP leader Meenakshi Lekhi had approached the Supreme Court, alleging that Gandhi wrongly attributed the slogan to the court’s observations in the Rafale case. Gandhi initially expressed regret, but the apex court observed that regret was not equivalent to an apology. He subsequently tendered an unconditional apology, after which the court closed the contempt proceedings while advising him to exercise greater caution in future.
The latest development also comes in the backdrop of Gandhi’s conviction in the 2023 defamation case related to his “Modi surname” remark. In that matter, Gandhi chose to contest the charges and did not apologise. A Surat court convicted him and sentenced him to two years in prison, leading to his temporary disqualification from the Lok Sabha. The Supreme Court later stayed the conviction, enabling his return to Parliament.
Political observers note that the Madhya Pradesh case differs from broader political criticism, as it involved a specific allegation against a named individual. Gandhi’s current position is that the statement was factually mistaken, unrelated to Kartikeya Singh Chouhan, and that any offence caused by it is deeply regretted.
At the time the remark was made, Shivraj Singh Chouhan was serving as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, while Gandhi was Congress president and leading the party’s campaign against the BJP in the state.
The High Court is expected to continue hearing the matter in the coming weeks.
