Bengaluru: Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge and Congress leader Mohammed Haris Nalapad were granted conditional bail by a Bengaluru court on Saturday in a criminal defamation case filed by an RSS volunteer over alleged derogatory remarks against the organisation.
Court grants conditional bail
The 42nd Special Court for Elected Representatives granted bail to both leaders after they appeared before the court and sought relief in the case.
The court directed Kharge and Nalapad to execute a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh each, along with cash security of Rs 10,000 each. The offence alleged against them under Section 356 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, is bailable in nature, according to the court order.
The matter has been posted for further hearing on September 19.
RSS worker filed private complaint
The case stems from a private complaint filed by RSS worker A. Tejas, who alleged that Kharge and Nalapad made statements and published content that were defamatory and damaging to the reputation of the RSS and its members.
The complaint alleged that Kharge had made remarks on social media, while Nalapad was accused of making objectionable comments during an interview on a YouTube channel.
The Bengaluru court had taken cognisance of the complaint in June and proceeded against Kharge and Nalapad while dropping proceedings against another Congress leader, Dinesh Gundu Rao. Summons were subsequently issued to the two accused.
Case will now continue
Kharge had earlier challenged the maintainability of the complaint, arguing that an RSS member could not maintain a defamation complaint concerning the organisation because of questions surrounding its legal status and membership records. The court rejected that contention.
The grant of bail does not decide the merits of the allegations. The proceedings will continue before the Bengaluru court, with the next hearing scheduled for September 19.
The case comes amid an ongoing political debate involving the Congress and RSS, adding another legal dimension to the wider political confrontation in Karnataka.