The Karnataka High Court on Friday stayed proceedings against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case filed by the Bharatiya Janata Party in connection with allegations that the Hindutva party’s government in the state had taken bribes from contractors, Live Law reported.

The Congress was elected to power in the state in 2023, displacing the previous BJP government.

Justice M Nagaprasanna issued the order on a petition filed by Gandhi seeking to quash the case, The Hindu reported. Nagaprasanna also sought a response from the BJP on the petition, Bar and Bench reported.

The complaint in the matter was filed by BJP leader S Keshava Prasad against Gandhi, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar in May 2023. Prasad objected to campaign advertisements and slogans used by the Congress during the Assembly elections that year.

Prasad objected to the Congress’ allegations that the BJP government, which was in power from 2019 to 2023, was charging a 40% commission or bribes from contractors for undertaking public works.

The BJP alleged that the Congress was spreading false claims against its members, including the then Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.

On Friday, Senior Counsel SK Shetty, representing Gandhi, said that the complaint filed by the BJP was misconstrued, Bar and Bench reported. He added that this was the first time that the case was being heard.

The matter was listed for further hearing on February 20.

On June 7, a trial court in Bengaluru granted bail to Gandhi in the matter. He appeared before the court in compliance with a summons issued on June 1. On that day, the court also granted bail to Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar after they appeared before the judge.

Gandhi is facing another defamation case in Pune, which has been filed by Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar’s grand-nephew Satyaki Savarkar. The case pertains to the Congress leader’s alleged remarks about VD Savarkar during a speech he delivered in 2023 in London.

According to the complaint, Gandhi claimed that the Hindutva ideologue had written in a book that he and five to six of his friends once beat up a Muslim man and felt happy about it.

The complainant, however, claimed that VD Savarkar never wrote such a book, nor did such an incident occur.

On January 10, a Pune court granted bail to the Congress leader in this case.

Gandhi was also convicted in March 2023 by a Surat court for defamatory remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a speech ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The court had given Gandhi the maximum punishment of two years in the case, which led to his immediate disqualification as a Lok Sabha MP.

The Supreme Court, however, stayed the conviction in April, thereby restoring Gandhi’s Lok Sabha membership.