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A notice has been issued to Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, in a defamation suit over his remarks regarding the 2020 Hathras rape case, according to the complainant's lawyer Munna Singh Pundhir. The notice was served by Additional District Judge Vijay Kumar Dwivedi after a revision petition was heard on July 15. The court informed that the notice was received by Gandhi on Tuesday. The court has set the next hearing date for September 19.

The Hathras rape case involves a Dalit girl from Boolgarhi village who was allegedly gangraped in September 2020 and died from injuries sustained during hospital treatment in Delhi. Four men from the village were accused of the crime, with Ramkumar, Luvkush, and Ravi being acquitted, while Sandeep was found guilty and is currently in jail.

Rahul Gandhi visited Boolgarhi village in December 2024 and allegedly stated that the accused men were "roaming free" while the victim's family remained confined to their home. Pundhir claims that these remarks were defamatory, as the three acquitted men had been found not guilty following a CBI investigation and a trial that lasted over two-and-a-half years.

The complainants had previously served a legal notice to Gandhi seeking damages of ₹1.5 crore, with ₹50 lakh each for the three acquitted men, before filing the criminal defamation complaint.