Rahul Gandhi's Comments Had Nothing To Do With Savarkar's Contribution To India's Freedom Struggle: Savarkar's Granddaughter Tells Pune Court

Right-wing leader Vinayak Savarkar's granddaughter Satyaki Savarkar on Tuesday told a special MP/MLA court that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's alleged defamatory speech against her grandfather holds no historic significance and thus, he cannot be allowed to divert the focus on Savarkar's contributions to India's freedom struggle.

Notably, Gandhi had on February 18 filed an application through advocate Milind Pawar, wherein he pointed out that the complainant in the instant case - Satyaki, in her complaint has claimed that Savarkar has contributed in India's struggle for freedom from the British rulers. However, disputing the same, Gandhi had urged the court to convert the trial into a 'summons trial' so as to call for records of historical facts.

On Tuesday, Satyaki through her counsel Sangram Kolatkar filed her reply to Gandhi's application before Special Judge Amol Shinde and claimed that the speech made by Gandhi has nothing to do with her grandfather's contribution in freedom struggle. 

"The accused is deliberately trying to divert the matter by raising irrelevant arguments about Savarkar's contributions during the Indian freedom struggle. The accused has raised issues regarding certain historical facts, which are irrelevant to the core subject matter of this case. The main contention revolves around the alleged books as mentioned by the accused yet nowhere has the accused referred to any substantial evidence to support his claims. Instead, he is engaging in unnecessary delays by diverting the focus from the actual issues at hand," Satyaki's reply reads. 

"The accused is either trying to mislead the court or has failed to properly analyse the gravity of the matter. Additionally, the accused is attempting to divert the case by giving historical angle, whereas the Complainant emphasises that the matter is specifically related to the defamatory speech made by the accuse.d This speech holds no historical significance and such an argument is merely a tactic to prolong the case, which appears to be a modus operandi of the accused, as there are multiple pending cases against him," the reply further reads.

Further, Satyaki has urged the special court to 'strictly' instruct Gandhi not to make any statements against Savarkar to 'tarnish' his image.

"The accused is merely attempting to tarnish the image of Savarkar. Hence, it is requested that this court strictly instruct the accused not to express his personal grudges or ill feelings towards Savarkar during the completing of the trial," the reply reads further. 

In her reply, Satyaki has highlighted that Gandhi has a 'documented' history of making defamatory remarks.

"The accused has a documented history of making defamatory remarks, leading to multiple legal proceedings across various courts in India. He has previously been involved in similar cases, including one specific case in the State of Gujarat, where he was convicted and sentenced to two years, which resulted in his temporary disqualification from the Lok Sabha, which wa later stayed by the Supreme Court. Considering this background of the accused, it can be inferred that he is a habitual offender making defamatory statements," the response reads.

Satyaki has therefore, urged the court to reject Gandhi's application. 

Taking the reply copy on record, the special court has adjourned the matter for hearing arguments on March 19. 

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 - Satyaki Savarkar 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.

Satyaki, in her complaint, has submitted several news reports and a YouTube link to a video of Gandhi's speech in London as evidence. She 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.