A Pune court has summoned Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to remain present before it on December 2, in connection with a criminal defamation case filed against him for allegedly defaming late right-wing leader and Hindutva icon Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.
The order was passed by Special MP/MLA court Judge Amol Shinde on Tuesday after Advocate Milind Pawar, representing Gandhi, requested the court to adjourn the matter till December 2, assuring that his client would appear personally on the next date of hearing.
Advocate Pawar contended that Gandhi was a Member of Parliament (MP) from Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh and also a Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha.
Being an LoP and the leader of a national party, Gandhi had been busy travelling to various parts of the country for the past two months for campaigning as a few States in the country had been undergoing elections.
However, the MP would appear personally on the next date of hearing, the Counsel assured the Special Court, after which the judge adjourned the matter till December 2.
Earlier in October, the Special MP/MLA court had issued summons to Gandhi to appear before the court personally in connection with a defamation case filed against him by Satyaki Savarkar, the grandnephew of Vir Savarkar.
Appearing for Savarkar, Advocate Sangram Kolhatkar apprised the court that despite Gandhi’s office receiving the summons, the Congress leader chose not to appear before the court and obey the summons.
Filed under Section 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the complaint contended that Gandhi had repeatedly defamed Savarkar on various occasions over the years.
It mentioned a specific incident of March 5, 2023, wherein Gandhi had addressed the Overseas Congress in the United Kingdom. As per the complainant, Gandhi made intentionally wild allegations against Vir Savarkar, knowing them to be untrue, with the intention of harming Savarkar’s reputation and causing mental agony to the complainant and his family.
He further said that the defamatory speech was delivered by Gandhi in England, but its impact was felt in Pune as it was published and circulated throughout India.
The complaint further mentioned several news reports and a YouTube link to a video of Gandhi’s speech in London as evidence, claiming that Gandhi falsely accused Savarkar of writing a book in which he described beating up a Muslim person. Satyaki said Savarkar never wrote any such book and such an incident never happened. Gandhi made these false, malicious and wild allegations with the specific objective of defaming the legendary freedom fighter and harming his reputation, noted the plea.
The complainant sought maximum punishment for Gandhi under Section 500 (Punishment for defamation) of the IPC and maximum compensation as per Section 357 (Order to pay compensation) of the CrPC.