The Madhya Pradesh High Court has issued a notice to Kartikeya Singh Chouhan, son of former Chief Minister and Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, directing him to file his response within two weeks. The order was passed during the hearing of a petition related to a defamation case involving Congress MP Rahul Gandhi. The matter was heard by a single bench of Justice Pramod Kumar Agrawal.

During the proceedings, the High Court also directed that all records related to the case pending before the MP-MLA Court in Bhopal be submitted for review. The court stated that it would examine the current status and previous orders before deciding the further course of action. The next hearing in the case has been scheduled for May 4, 2026.

The dispute dates back to the 2018 Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections. During a campaign rally in Jhabua, Rahul Gandhi allegedly linked Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his son Kartikeya to the Panama Papers controversy. While Gandhi later clarified his remarks regarding Shivraj Singh Chouhan, no explicit clarification was issued concerning Kartikeya Chouhan.

Based on this, Kartikeya Singh Chouhan filed a defamation complaint against Rahul Gandhi in the MP-MLA Court in Bhopal on October 30, 2018. He alleged that the statement had damaged his personal and public image. Subsequently, on February 27, 2025, the court took cognizance of the matter and issued a summons directing Rahul Gandhi to appear on May 9, 2025.

However, Gandhi did not appear before the court on the scheduled date. Following this, on May 10, 2025, the court issued a second summons asking him to appear on August 28, 2025. Later, on April 3, 2026, Rahul Gandhi challenged the summons by filing a petition before the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

With the High Court now issuing a notice to Kartikeya Chouhan and seeking his response, the case has once again drawn attention to the legal implications of political statements. Legal experts believe the upcoming hearing will be crucial in determining the validity of the summons and the future course of the proceedings