Varanasi court directs Rahul Gandhi to appear on December 18 in case over remarks on lord ram

VARANASI/ LUCKNOW: The Varanasi court on Friday directed Congress leader and Rae Bareli MP Rahul Gandhi, or his lawyer, to appear before it on the next hearing date, December 18, after neither of them turned up for proceedings in a case related to his alleged remarks on Lord Ram. The matter was listed before the court of Special Judge (MP-MLA) Yajurved Vikram Singh, but the hearing had to be postponed due to their absence. Rahul Gandhi is accused of calling Lord Ram fictional during an interaction at Brown University in the United States. In response, advocate Harishankar Pandey filed a revision petition in the Varanasi court. Advocate Pandey had earlier submitted a petition on May 12 this year, alleging that during Gandhis session with students at Brown University on April 21, he described Lord Shri Ram as mythological and stories from that period as fictional. The complaint further alleged that Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party had repeatedly insulted Hindus and symbols of Sanatan Dharma. The court will first examine the maintainability of the petition. Pandey initially filed his complaint before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (MP-MLA). After the hearing, the Special Chief Judicial Magistrate (MP-MLA) dismissed the petition on May 17, 2025. Pandey then filed a revision petition before the District Judges Court on 26 September 2025. The petitioner claimed that Rahul Gandhi had hurt national sentiments by questioning the existence of Lord Ram, calling him a Ram Drohi. He also alleged that the UPA government had opposed the Ram Temple and that Gandhi was now raising doubts about Lord Ram abroad. The lawyer urged the court to register a case over the remarks. The MP-MLA Court had earlier fixed May 19, 2025 for hearing the application; the hearing was held on that date, and the court reserved its order.