A court in Maharashtra’s Nashik district has summoned Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case filed against him for his alleged objectionable remarks against Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Nashik, Deepali Parimal Kaduskar, issued a process (summons/notice) to Gandhi on September 27, noting that the “statement made against a patriotic person prima-facie seems to be defamatory.”
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Nashik: A court in Maharashtra’s Nashik district has issued a summons to Congress Member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case filed against him over alleged derogatory remarks made about Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.
The summons was issued by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Deepali Parimal Kaduskar, on September 27. The court noted that
“the statement made against a patriotic person prima facie seems to be defamatory.”
Gandhi is required to either appear in person or be represented by his legal counsel on the next scheduled hearing date, which is yet to be determined.
The complaint was filed by the director of an NGO who claimed to have watched a press conference and a speech by Rahul Gandhi in Hingoli, Maharashtra, in November 2022. The complainant alleges that Gandhi’s words and representations deliberately tarnished the reputation of Savarkar and attempted to defame his image in society.
In his complaint, the NGO director stated,
“The speech of the accused along with press statements try to ruin the reputation of the complainant’s idol Swatantryaveer Savarkar and his contribution to society along with his noble work in the pre-independence period.”
The complainant further claimed that Gandhi had said,
“Savarkar is BJP and RSS jin”,
-which he found defamatory.
Additionally, Gandhi allegedly accused Savarkar of having
“prayed for release with folded hands and later promised to work for the British government.”
After considering the submissions, the court observed,
“Considering the record, it appears that the statements made by the accused against a patriotic person prima-facie seem to be defamatory.”
The magistrate added that there were sufficient grounds to proceed with the case, and subsequently issued a process against Gandhi for offenses under sections 499 (defamation) and 504 (intentional insult) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
This case adds to a growing list of legal challenges faced by Rahul Gandhi, with his comments on public figures continuing to stir political and legal debates across the country.
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