Sultanpur (UP), Dec 4 (PTI) An MP-MLA court here deferred the hearing in a defamation case against Congress MP Rahul Gandhi to December 16 after his lawyer cited ill health on Wednesday.

Santosh Pandey, the lawyer of local BJP politician and complainant in the case Vijay Mishra, said his client's cross-examination was scheduled on Wednesday.

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While Mishra was present in court, Gandhi's lawyer Kashi Prasad Shukla submitted a letter citing ill health, leading to the court adjourning the case, Pandey said.

On November 23, the hearing was delayed due to a legal workshop held in the civil court.

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Gandhi has been accused of making objectionable comments during the 2018 Karnataka polls about Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was BJP president then.

Mishra filed a complaint against Gandhi in August 2018. Since then, the matter has been going on in the court.

Gandhi surrendered before the court during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra on February 20 and was granted bail on personal surety bonds of Rs 25,000 each.

Subsequently, the court issued several notices to the Congress leader to record his statement, but he was unable to appear before it due to the Lok Sabha polls.

Gandhi finally appeared before the MP-MLA court on July 26, got his statement recorded and said the case was filed to gain "cheap publicity".

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