A special court in Pune directed Rahul Gandhi to appear in person on December 2 in connection with a defamation case involving Veer Savarkar. The case was filed in April 2023 by Savarkar’s grandnephew, Satyaki Savarkar, over alleged defamatory remarks made by Gandhi during an event in London on March 5, 2023. The remarks reportedly targeted the late freedom fighter, prompting legal action. Gandhi, an MP from Rae Bareli, faces the court’s summons amid heightened political scrutiny.
Mumbai: A special court for Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assembly (MP/MLAs) in Pune ordered Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to appear in person on December 2, 2024, regarding a case in which he is accused of defaming freedom fighter and Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.
Gandhi, who serves as the MP for Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh and is the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, has been linked to this case since April last year. Satyaki Savarkar, the grandnephew of Vinayak Savarkar, filed a complaint in a magistrate court in Pune, alleging that Gandhi made defamatory remarks about Savarkar during a speech in London on March 5, 2023.
On September 21, 2024, the case was transferred to the MP/MLAs court.
Special Judge Amol Shinde issued a summons to Rahul Gandhi on October 4, 2024, stating,
“Whereas your attendance is necessary to answer to a charge of offence punishable under section 500 of the Indian Penal Code, you are hereby required to appear in person (or by pleader, as the case may be) before the magistrate on October 23, 2024.”
However, Gandhi did not attend, as the summons had not reached him. The court subsequently issued another summons for November 18, which was sent by post and confirmed as received by Gandhi.
Satyaki Savarkar’s lawyer, Sangram Kolhatkar said,
“We submitted the online tracking report and post receipts to the court showing that the summons has reached Rahul Gandhi,”
Despite this, Gandhi did not appear in court.
Advocate Milind Pawar informed the court that he had been instructed by Rahul Gandhi’s office to represent him. He submitted an “appearance pursis” along with a request for exemption, asking the court to accept it even though he had not filed a vakalatnama on Gandhi’s behalf.
Pawar explained that while the summons for Gandhi was received by his office, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha had been unable to attend due to election campaigns in various states over the past two months. He assured the court that Rahul Gandhi would be present for the next hearing.
In response, Advocate Sangram Kolhatkar filed an application seeking a non-bailable warrant against Rahul Gandhi. He pointed out that Gandhi had been convicted in a defamation case by a Gujarat court last year. After considering both sides, the MP/MLAs court ordered Rahul Gandhi to appear in person on December 2.
Regarding the alleged defamatory comments, Satyaki Savarkar stated,
“Rahul Gandhi had in London claimed that Vinayak Damodar Savarkar wrote a book in which he described an incident where he and several friends attacked a Muslim and felt pleased about it. Gandhi questioned whether this was not a cowardly act. However, Savarkar has never written such a book, nor did any such incident occur.”
In his petition, Satyaki asserted that,
“Gandhi had intentionally made false, malicious, and wild allegations against Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, fully aware that these claims were untrue, with the specific aim of harming his reputation and defaming the Savarkar name.”
Along with his complaint, Satyaki provided several news reports and a YouTube link to a video of Gandhi’s speech in London as evidence. He requested the court to impose the maximum punishment under IPC section 500 (punishment for defamation) and sought compensation under section 357 (order to pay compensation) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
Following the court’s directions, the Vishrambag police station in Pune conducted an inquiry and submitted a report on May 27, 2024, stating that Rahul Gandhi had allegedly defamed Vinayak Damodar Savarkar during his speech to the Indian diaspora in London in March 2023.
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