The Supreme Court said on Friday that it will hear on April 15 a contempt petition filed by BJP leader Meenakshi Lekhi against Congress president Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of misquoting an apex court in connection with the Rafale deal.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi fixed the date of hearing after the plea was mentioned by senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi before it.
ALSO READ: Election 2019: Phase 2 constituencies list
The contempt petition, filed by Rohatgi, accused Gandhi of misquoting the order when the Congress leader said the apex court had accepted that ‘chowkidar’ (a reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi), is a “chor’ (thief).
Talking to ANI, Lekhi said, “Rahul Gandhi has misquoted the Supreme Court’s order on the Rafale deal…I am sure the court must have been watching the media where Rahul Gandhi made false claims about the court’s order.”
Hitting out at Congress, she said, “How can the Gandhi family talk about corruption when three of the four members of the family are out on bail.”
“Rahul Gandhi has misquoted the Supreme Court order and he made the remarks to influence the voters during the Lok Sabha elections,” Lekhi added.
Gandhi while speaking to the media in Amethi said, “The Supreme Court has made it clear that ‘chowkidar’ allowed “theft and that it had accepted that some sort of corruption had taken place in the Rafale deal”.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court had dismissed the Centre’s preliminary objections claiming “privilege” over three Rafale documents cited in petitions seeking review of the December 14 verdict on the fighter jet deal.
In a unanimous judgement, a three-judge bench of the top court headed by Chief Justice Gogoi allowed the admissibility of the three documents and said the review pleas will be heard on merits.
(With ANI inputs)