Rahul Gandhi, a Congress Member of Parliament, was unscathed after several vehicles in his convoy hit each other on the Purvanchal Expressway in Uttar Pradesh on Monday as he went to Sultanpur for a court hearing.

He reached the special MP-MLA court where he was supposed to appear for a defamation case from 2018. There appears to be no immediate news on injuries sustained or the amount of damage.

Multi-vehicle collision

In the video, a number of vehicles can be seen hitting each other. An ambulance appears to have hit the vehicles from behind.

It was still unclear if the ambulance was part of the convoy. Initial reports say that a vehicle owned by a Congress worker hit the ambulance.

His vehicle was said to have been far ahead when the accident happened. A Congress worker confirmed that the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition had reached the court in Sultanpur.

However, no more information has been immediately given by authorities.

Acquitted in defamation case from 2018

Hours after the accident the special MP-MLA court acquitted Gandhi in a defamation case. Magistrate Shubham Verma declared that he was innocent and the verdict was given in front of Gandhi.

The case was filed by Vijay Mishra, a former chairman of the Sultanpur District Cooperative Bank, a member of the BJP. It was for alleged comments made about Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who currently serves as the national president of the BJP.

The comments were made at a press conference in Bengaluru ahead of the Karnataka Assembly elections in May 2018. The case was filed by Mishra on August 4, 2018.

Case goes to court

Gandhi was served summons on November 27, 2023. He appeared in court on February 20, 2024. He was granted bail of two sureties worth ₹25,000.

During the case, Gandhi said he denied the claims and called it a conspiracy by the ruling party. The court also ruled that he should appear in person for the verdict on Monday.

This concluded proceedings in the lengthy case as he was acquitted.