Today, On 26th June, In the RSS defamation case, the high court reserved its decision on Rahul Gandhi’s plea concerning certain documents. The high court highlighted the serious delay in the trial, which has been pending for ten years.
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court reserved its decision on a petition filed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. He is challenging the inclusion of a document as evidence by a Magistrate court in Bhiwandi, which is handling a defamation case initiated by an RSS functionary.
Justice Prithviraj Chavan‘s bench observed that the Magistrate court‘s order to exhibit the document necessitates that it be substantiated during the trial by the RSS functionary, Rajesh Kunte.
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On Wednesday, Justice Chavan addressed Advocate Tapan Thatte, representing Kunte, stating,
“You are prosecuting me, so you must prove your case. The accused can simply remain silent in the dock. This is the principle of criminal jurisprudence. You need to rely on your own evidence. You are causing unnecessary delays. This matter should have been resolved by now, possibly even reaching the Supreme Court.”
The High Court expressed concern over the significant delay in concluding the trial against Rahul Gandhi, which has extended for ten years.
Justice Chavan questioned,
“Why is there so much delay? The Bhiwandi court does not have a high backlog.”
Advocate Tapan Thatte acknowledged that even after being exhibited, the document would still need to be proven by them. Regarding the delay, Thatte clarified that it was due to petitions filed by both parties in higher courts, not just by Kunte.
Advocates Sudeep Pasbola and Kushal Mor, representing Gandhi, argued that if the document exhibited solely for identification and the prosecution intends to call witnesses to validate it, they have no objection.
In 2014, RSS functionary Rajesh Kunte filed a defamation complaint against Gandhi in the Bhiwandi court, alleging that in a speech on March 6 of that year, Gandhi claimed the RSS responsible for Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination. Kunte, being associated with the RSS, felt defamed. Gandhi appeared before the Bhiwandi court in 2018 and pleaded not guilty.
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Charges framed against him, and since then, Kunte has been the only one to testify.
During Kunte‘s deposition in the Magistrate court, he submitted a copy of a writ petition filed by Gandhi in the Bombay High Court along with some annexures.
Gandhi’s lawyers opposed this, but the Magistrate court allowed the documents to be included in the court record. Gandhi now approached the High Court to contest this order.
The defamation case dates back to a 2014 speech by Rahul Gandhi, during which he allegedly accused the RSS of killing Mahatma Gandhi. This prompted Rajesh Kunte to file a defamation complaint, asserting that the statement tarnished his reputation due to his RSS affiliation. In 2018, Gandhi appeared before the Bhiwandi court and pleaded not guilty, leading to charges being framed against him. To date, Kunte remains the only individual to have testified in the trial.
The High Court‘s impending decision on this plea is critical, as it could significantly impact the course of the defamation trial, which has already been marked by considerable delays and legal directing by both parties.