The senior counsel also said that the SC had heard the matter last on December 4, 2025, when it had directed that it be listed on April 22, 2026. However it was not listed for hearing on this date, he pointed out.The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday told the petitioner who flagged the delay in the hearing of his appeal in a defamation case against Rahul Gandhi that all matters before it “are… treated equally”.The case pertains to the Leader of Opposition’s alleged remarks in 2020 that “Chinese soldiers are beating up Indian Army personnel”. The complaint was filed by former Border Roads Organisation (BRO) Director Uday Shankar Srivastava.Senior advocate Gaurav Bhatia representing the petitioner said that after the SC had stayed the proceedings in August 2025 following the Congress leader’s appeal, the matter was to come up for hearing in April this year, but had not.The senior counsel told the three-judge bench, presided over by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, that the trial pending before a Lucknow court was getting delayed due to the delay and wondered if the matter was not getting listed due to Gandhi’s stature.Hearing the Congress leader’s appeal, a two-Judge SC bench had on August 4, 2025, stayed the proceedings pending before a Lucknow court in connection with the defamation complaint filed by Srivastava.On Wednesday, Bhatia pointed out that the matter has been tagged with two other criminal defamation matters related to The Wire news portal and needs to be de-tagged and heard on merits.He said that he had made the request to de-tag the army defamation matter from the rest even earlier and this was allowed by the court, but the previous orders did not reflect this.Story continues below this ad“It needs to be de-tagged. The person is about the law of the country, and for the last one year, the matter is getting adjourned,” Bhatia submitted.The senior counsel also said that the SC had heard the matter last on December 4, 2025, when it had directed that it be listed on April 22, 2026. However it was not listed for hearing on this date, he pointed out.“Please see the last order. It says list on April 22, but it was not listed. So this is what I am saying — just because the person is involved, the matter doesn’t get listed. I make a request to detag, order is passed but it’s not reflected in the order”.He added, “if there is an order mentioning a specific date, which is five months prior in time (but) the matter is not listed, it doesn’t augur very well even for the institution.”Story continues below this ad“This matter ought to be listed. He is not a VVIP that his matter will not be listed. He is enjoying the stay,” Bhatia said.The CJI asked him to file an application making his request.Bhatia said that no application is ever filed for de-tagging. However, the court reiterated that he file an application.