A local court in Sambhal on Monday deferred the hearing in the case against Congress MP Rahul Gandhi over his controversial remark about “fighting the Indian state” and set the next hearing for September 26.

Additional District Judge (ADJ-II) Aarti Faujdar postponed the case as records from the subordinate court were not available. Senior lawyer Sagir Saifi, representing Gandhi, informed that the matter was deferred due to the unavailability of these records.

The controversy stems from a statement Gandhi made during the inauguration of the Congress’ new headquarters in Delhi on January 15, when he reportedly said that the BJP and RSS had captured every institution of the country and added, “We are now fighting the BJP, the RSS and the Indian state itself.”

The case was filed by petitioner Simran Gupta of the Hindu Shakti Dal, who argued that Gandhi’s comment disrespected the citizens and democratic institutions of India. Gupta said, “Rahul Gandhi’s statement deeply hurt the sentiments of people across the country. I had earlier approached the district magistrate and the SP in Sambhal, but no action was taken. As a result, I filed a case on January 23 in court.”