The Bombay High Court on Friday quashed a Bhiwandi court order that allowed the transcript of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s speech as additional evidence in the criminal defamation case filed against him by a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker.
The single-judge Bench of Justice Prithviraj K Chavan allowed a writ petition filed by the Congress leader challenging the order of the Magistrate Court, which permitted RSS worker Rajesh Kunte to rely on the transcript of Gandhi’s speech, wherein he had allegedly blamed the right-wing outfit for killing Mahatma Gandhi.
Gandhi contended in the petition that the order of the Magistrate Court was in clear violation of a 2021 order passed by another single-judge Bench of Justice Revati Mohite-Dere, who had dismissed a similar petition filed by Kunte.
In that petition, Kunte sought admission or denial of Gandhi’s alleged defamatory speech. The judge held that an accused cannot be compelled to admit or deny annexures to their petition.
Relying on the order passed by Justice Mohite-Dere, Rahul Gandhi contended in the instant case that since the Magistrate had permitted the complainant to rely on this additional evidence (transcript of his speech), it would compel him to either admit or deny the said document.
The case pending before the Bhiwandi Magistrate Court was filed by Kunte in 2014. The RSS worker had alleged that Gandhi delivered a defamatory speech during one of his rallies in the then elections by blaming the RSS for the killing of Mahatma Gandhi.
The Magistrate took cognizance of the said complaint and summoned the Member of Parliament (MP) from Rae Bareli to appear before it. The summons were challenged before the High Court. In that petition, Gandhi had annexed the transcript of his speech. However, the said plea was dismissed.
Relying on the same, Kunte had argued before the Magistrate that by annexing the speech copy to the petition, Gandhi has ‘unambiguously’ accepted the speech and its contents. However, the Magistrate Court rejected this argument. Kunte then moved the High Court, which dismissed his plea.