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Rafale Deal: Supreme Court Closes Contempt Plea Against Rahul Gandhi

Mr. Gandhi enjoys an important position in the political spectrum, he needs to be more careful in the future, Supreme Court says.

Rahul Gandhi, president of the Congress Party, pauses during a news conference at the party’s headquarters in New Delhi, India. (Photographer: Prashanth Vishwanathan/Bloomberg)  
Rahul Gandhi, president of the Congress Party, pauses during a news conference at the party’s headquarters in New Delhi, India. (Photographer: Prashanth Vishwanathan/Bloomberg)  

The Supreme Court on Thursday closed the contempt plea against Congress' Rahul Gandhi for wrongly attributing to the apex court his "chowkidar chor hai" remark in the Rafale deal case against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The apex court said the remarks made by Gandhi were far from true and he should have refrained from those and could have been careful.

"It is unfortunate that without any verification certain remarks were made by the contemnor (Rahul Gandhi) against the prime minister," a bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices SK Kaul and KM Joseph said.

"Gandhi enjoys an important position in the political spectrum and no court should be dragged to political discourse, whether valid or invalid. Mr. Gandhi needs to be more careful in future," the bench said, referring to the affidavit filed by him tendering an unconditional apology.

The bench noted that subsequently the accuser filed an affidavit that contempt proceedings should not be taken forward. "in view of the affidavit filed by Gandhi, we close contempt proceedings initiated against him," the bench said.