Savarkar Defamation Case | Pune Court Orders Personal Appearance Of Rahul Gandhi On December 2

A Special Court in Pune, on Tuesday (November 18) ordered Rahul Gandhi to remain present before it on December 2, to attend the proceedings of the defamation complaint filed against him for allegedly defaming late right-wing leader Vinayak Savarkar by making objectionable comments against him in a speech he delivered in the United Kingdom.

Special MP/MLA court Judge Amol Shinde had in October, issued summons to Gandhi to appear before the court personally so as to answer the charge under section 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) initiated against him by Satyaki Savarkar, the grandnephew of Savarkar.

On Tuesday, advocate Sangram Kolhatkar representing Savarkar informed the court that despite Gandhi's office receiving the summons, the Congress leader chose not to appear before the court and obey the summons.

However, advocate Milind Pawar, who appeared for Gandhi, told the court that his client is a Member of Parliament (MP) from Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh and also a Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha. The counsel further pointed out that few States across the country have been undergoing elections since last two months and being an LoP and leader of a national party, Gandhi has been busy travelling to various parts of the country for campaigning purposes.

Pawar, however, assured the court that Gandhi will appear personally on the next date of hearing.

The judge, therefore, adjourned the matter till December 2, with a clear directive to Gandhi to appear before it personally.

Background:

The defamation complaint asserts that Gandhi has repeatedly defamed Savarkar on various occasions over the years. One specific incident highlighted was on March 5, 2023, when Gandhi addressed the Overseas Congress in the United Kingdom.

The complainant has claimed that Gandhi made intentionally wild allegations against Savarkar, knowing them to be untrue, with the intention of harming Savarkar's reputation and causing mental agony to the complainant and his family. The complaint states that the defamatory speech was delivered in England, but its impact was felt in Pune as it was published and circulated throughout India.

Savarkar, in his complaint, has submitted several news reports and a YouTube link to a video of Gandhi's speech in London as evidence. He has claimed that Gandhi falsely accused Savarkar of writing a book in which he described beating up a Muslim person, which Savarkar never wrote and such an incident never happened. Satyaki argued that Gandhi made these false, malicious, and wild allegations with the specific objective of defaming Savarkar and harming his reputation.

The criminal defamation application filed by Satyaki demands maximum punishment for Gandhi under Section 500 (Punishment for defamation) of the IPC and seeks imposition of maximum compensation as per Section 357 (Order to pay compensation) of the CrPC.