Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has moved an application in a court at Bhiwandi in Maharashtra's Thane district, seeking permanent exemption from appearance in a defamation case filed against him.

Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) JV Paliwal directed the complainant, local RSS activist Rajesh Kunte, to respond to the application and posted the matter for further hearing on May 18. In 2014, Kunte had filed the case against Gandhi after watching his speech in Thane's Bhiwandi township, where the Congress leader alleged that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was behind the killing of Mahatma Gandhi.