RSS Defamation Case: Rahul Gandhi Approaches Bombay High Court Against Order Allowing Transcripts Of His Speech To Be Exhibited As Evidence

Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi has approached the Bombay High Court against an order passed by the Magistrate court at Bhiwandi allowing transcripts of his alleged defamatory speech to be exhibited as ‘evidence’ in the ongoing defamation case filed by an Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) functionary.

RSS worker Rajesh Kunte has accused Gandhi of defaming the RSS by making "false and baseless allegations" during an election rally in 2014 by allegedly holding the RSS responsible for Mahatma Gandhi's assassination.

Gandhi claimed that in September 2021, Justice Revati Mohite Dere had already dismissed Kunte’s appeal to admit the transcript of his speech as evidence under Section 294 of the CrPC in the defamation complaint.

Justice Dere had observed that merely because Gandhi annexed a certified copy of speech's transcript to his quashing petition before the High Court in 2015 didn't mean that the Kunte could compel him to admit the document. The CD would have to be proved at the time of trial, the Court had said.

"It is well settled that if an accused is compelled to deny or admit a document, it would be contrary to the constitutional mandate, inasmuch as, it would violate Article 20(3) of the Constitution of India," the bench had said.

In the present petition, Gandhi claimed that despite the said order, the magistrate allowed the petition along with the annexures to be exhibited as “evidence.” One of the annexures was the transcript of his speech.

Gandhi’s lawyer argued that merely because Kunte obtained certified copies of Gandhi's plea of 2014 didn’t mean he could compel Gandhi to admit or deny the annexures to the said petition.

On Monday, a single-judge bench of Justice Sarang V Kotwal said that it would be appropriate for Justice Dere’s bench to decide the issue since she was earlier seized of the matter.

On March 6, 2014, Gandhi in his capacity as Congress vice president had allegedly claimed the RSS was behind the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.

Gandhi approached the High Court to quash proceedings against him. But in March 2015, the Bombay High Court refused to quash the case. Gandhi subsequently approached the Supreme Court challenging the High Court order but withdrew his plea expressing his willingness to face trial, but refusing to apologise.

Kunte has been trying to get the entire petition exhibited as evidence in the defamation case since then. He claimed that by attaching a copy of his speech to the petition, Gandhi had unambiguously owned up.

In 2018 the Bhiwandi Court at Thane framed charges against Gandhi, wherein he pleaded not guilty and the case was set for trial. The magistrate had also rejected Kunte’s plea under section 294 of the CrPC for the speech to be exhibited as evidence.

High Court had upheld the magistrate’s decision in 2021. However, on June 3, the magistrate took on record certain additional documents from Kunte including the writ petition, which Gandhi opposed.

Gandhi’s plea will now be heard by the bench of Justice Revati Mohite Dere.