‘A True Indian Wouldn’t Say This’: Supreme Court Rebukes Rahul Gandhi For His Claims On Chinese Occupation Of Indian land
Supreme Court on Monday strongly rebuked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his remarks about Chinese occupation of Indian territory, with a judge telling him, “If you were a true Indian, you would not say this.” The sharp oral observations came as the top court granted the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition an interim stay on proceedings in a criminal defamation case filed against him over comments related to the 2020 Galwan Valley clash.
The case was heard by a bench of Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice A.G. Masih, which questioned the basis of Gandhi’s statements. The defamation complaint was filed by a retired army official in Lucknow following remarks Gandhi made during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in 2022, where he spoke about the Indian Army in the context of the border clash with Chinese soldiers.
During the hearing, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Rahul Gandhi, argued that it would be an “unfortunate situation” if an opposition leader could not raise issues that are already in the public domain. “If he can’t say these things which are published in the Press, he can’t be a leader of opposition,” Singhvi submitted.
However, the bench questioned the platform and the evidence for the claims. Justice Datta asked why Gandhi chose to make the statements on social media instead of raising the issue in Parliament. “Whatever you have to say, why don’t you say in the Parliament?” the judge asked. The court further pressed for the source of the Congress leader’s claim that “2000 square kilometres of Indian territory were occupied by the Chinese.”
“Were you there? Do you have any credible material? Why do you make these statements without any… If you were a true Indian, you would not say all this,” Justice Datta remarked, according to legal news outlet Live Law. The judge also questioned the rationale of politicizing casualties during border conflicts.
The defamation case against Gandhi was initiated in a Lucknow court, which had summoned him. He later challenged the summons in the Allahabad High Court, which dismissed his plea in May 2025, stating that freedom of expression does not extend to defaming constitutional institutions like the Indian Army. Following this, Gandhi approached the Supreme Court. While the apex court has provided temporary relief by staying the proceedings, its pointed remarks have added a new dimension to the ongoing debate over political speech and national security.
