Lucknow Court Imposes ₹200 Fine On LoP Rahul Gandhi Over Non-Appearance In VD Savarkar Defamation Case

Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Alok Verma imposed the said cost while allowing Gandhi's application seeking an exemption from appearance in the case.

Gandhi was summoned by the Court as an accsued in December last year finding that Gandhi had spread hatred and ill will in society through his speech and by disturbing pamphlets before the speech at a press conference, wherein he allegedly said that Savarkar was a servant of the British and that he took a pension from the British.

"Distributing previously printed pamphlets and leaflets at press conferences demonstrates that Rahul Gandhi had weakened and insulted the basic characteristics of the nation by spreading hatred and enmity in the society", Addl. Civil Judge (Sr.Div.)/ACJM, Lucknow, Alok Verma had said in his order passed in December.

The order has been passed on a complaint case filed by Advocate Nripendra Pandey claiming that Gandhi, with the intention of spreading hatred in the society called the nationalist Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, a servant of the British, adding that he took a pension from the British.

"Kantiveer Damodar, the great leader of the nationalist ideology, was a fearless freedom fighter in the history of independence, who endured the inhuman atrocities of the British to free Mother India from their slavery, and Gandhi insulted Savarkar ji using indecent words and made hateful utterances to spread inferiority complex towards Savarkar ji...," the plea stated.

His complaint was earlier dismissed in June 2023, challenging the said order, Pandey had moved a revision petition before the Sessions Court. His revision was allowed as the ASJ/MP-MLA Court had noted that the revision was liable to be admitted as it involved questions of law and fact. The case was then transferred to the ACJM Court.

In related news, Gandhi has approached a special MP/MLA court in Pune seeking to convert the 'summary trial' pending against him over his allegedly defamatory statements against late right-wing leader Vinayak Savarkar, into a 'summons trial' as his statements were based on historical facts.