Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has approached the Jharkhand High Court to challenge a non-bailable warrant issued against him by the MP-MLA Special Court in Chaibasa.

The warrant relates to allegedly defamatory remarks he made against Union Home Minister Amit Shah during a 2018 Congress convention.

As per the sources, this is the second non-bailable warrant issued by the Chaibasa court, which has now directed Gandhi to appear before it on June 26.

Earlier, on February 27, the same court had issued a warrant after Gandhi failed to appear for trial proceedings. That order was stayed by the High Court after Gandhi filed a challenge.

The case stems from a complaint filed by Chaibasa resident Pratap Katiyar, who alleged that Gandhi had made derogatory comments suggesting Shah was involved in a murder. Gandhi was granted interim protection from arrest in the case in May 2022.

In a significant development, the Jharkhand High Court had in February this year refused to quash the criminal defamation case.

The Court observed that Gandhi's remarks—alleging that BJP leaders are “liars drunk with power” and that BJP workers would accept someone accused of murder as their President—are prima facie defamatory under Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code.