The Madhya Pradesh High Court closed a defamation case lodged by Kartikey Singh Chauhan–son of former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleging that the latter made false and defamatory statements against Singh during an election rally in 2018. [2026 LiveLaw (MP) 235]

Gandhi had moved the high court challenging a 2024 trial court order taking cognizance of the defamation case and issuing summons to him.

Justice Pramod Kumar Agarwal in his order noted the submission by senior counsel appearing for Gandhi that he has expressed his regret which has been accepted on behalf of the respondent (Singh) in written reply and the respondent had also agreed if the proceedings can be closed before both trial court and High Court.

The counsel appearing for Singh submitted that Gandhi had through his application clarified and expressed regret and in the light of such statement further proceedings before the High Court as well as trial Court be closed.

"Applicant has filed this petition under Section 528 of BNSS challenging the order dated 13.12.2024 passed by trial Court whereby cognizance for the offence u/s 500 of IPC has been taken and summoning the applicant has been passed by the trial Court. Applicant has expressed his regret for alleged defamatory statement mentioned in paragraphs 2 of I.A. No. 14821/2026 and the respondent has filed reply to the said I.A. in which it is mentioned that in view of the regret expressed by the applicant, the proceedings before this Court and trial Court be closed.

Considering the statement of applicant mentioned in I.A. No. 14821/2026 and the reply filed to the aforesaid IA as well as arguments advanced by learned counsel for both the sides wherein regret has been expressed by applicant, the proceedings before this Court are closed and proceedings pending before the JMFC, Special Judge (MP & MLA) complaint case no. SCPPM No. 03/2018 Bhopal shall also stand closed" the court said.

It was alleged that Gandhi had during the election rally wrongly claimed that Kartikey Singh's name appeared in the Panama Papers leaks.

The Panama Papers, described as one of the largest financial document leaks in history, involved over 11.5 million files leaked from the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca. The leaks exposed details of offshore entities set up in tax havens, alleged to be used for concealing assets and financial dealings.

Thereafter before the high court, Gandhi moved an application wherein he said, "That the applicant on October 29th, 2018, during the then ongoing Assembly Election campaign, made the allegedly defamatory statement in Jhabua, wherein a reference was made to so-called Panama Papers. Upon discovering that Respondent's name erroneously appeared in the said statement, on the very next day — i.e. on October 30th, 2018 — the applicant clarified in public that who he had intended to refer to was the son of the former Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh as having been named in the widely reported Panama Papers controversy and not the Respondent or his father, the then Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. The applicant, thus, express his regret. The applicant stands by the said public clarification and look forward to voluntary cessation of proceedings".

The high court thus closed the proceedings.

Case title: RAHUL GANDHI v/s KARTIKEY SINGH CHAUHAN

MISC. CRIMINAL CASE No. 13941 of 2026

Click Here To Read/Download Order

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (MP) 235