A Maharashtra court on Friday deferred till 27 October framing of charges against Rahul Gandhi in the defamation case filed against him by an RSS worker regarding his alleged statement about Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination, a lawyer representing the Congress vice president said.

Magistrate Tushar Vaze was likely to frame charges on Friday, but the matter was adjourned as Rahul Gandhi could not appear. The court in Thane accepted the Congress leader’s plea for exemption from appearance, the lawyer said.

Framing of charges is a stage before the start of trial. Advocate Narayan Iyer, Rahul Gandhi’s lawyer, told the court that his client could not remain present today as a Parliament session is underway and he has to also attend a meeting in Chhattisgarh.