Savarkar defamation case: Rahul Gandhi skips Pune court date, lawyer says Cong leader yet to receive summons

“Rahul Gandhi has not yet received the summons from the Pune court. Hence he did not appear before the court on Monday. He respects the court. He will be following the court’s order after receiving the summons in this matter. Meanwhile, the matter is likely to be transferred to another court. Next hearing is on October 4,” said Sarode.

Asked about the summons, advocate Sangram Kolhatkar, who represents Satyaki Savarkar, the complainant in this case, said, “JMFC Akshi Jain was not present today. We would not comment on the court procedure.”

Satyaki is the grand nephew of Vinayak Savarkar. In April last year, Satyaki had filed a complaint before a magistrate court in Pune, following Rahul Gandhi’s alleged defamatory remarks against Vinayak Savarkar during a function held in London on March 5, 2023. Along with the complaint, Satyaki had submitted a few news reports as well as a YouTube link of a video of Gandhi’s speech in London as evidence.

According to Satyaki, Rahul Gandhi had in London said that (Vinayak Damodar) Savarkar had written a book in which he stated that Savarkar and five or six of his friends had beated up a Muslim and felt delighted about what was happening. “Rahul Gandhi then went on to ask whether this was not a cowardly act… But Savarkar has not written any such book as claimed by Rahul Gandhi, nor has such an incident ever happened. Hence I filed a defamation case against Rahul Gandhi in a Pune court,” he said.

In his petition, Satyaki stated, “He (Gandhi) has intentionally made false, malicious and wild allegations against Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, fully knowing the said allegations to be untrue, with the specific objective of harming the reputation and to defame the surname Savarkar…..”

In his criminal defamation application, Satyaki demanded a maximum punishment for the accused under section 500 (Punishment for defamation) of the Indian Penal Code. “Maximum compensation may kindly be imposed upon the accused according to section 357 (Order to pay compensation) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC),” he stated.

After recording statements of Satyaki and two witnesses, the JMFC court had in January 2024 directed the Pune City police to conduct an inquiry into the defamation complaint as per provisions of section 202 of the CrPC and submit its report. The Vishrambag police station in Pune then initiated an inquiry into this matter.

Police submitted the inquiry report before JMFC Akshi Jain in Pune on May 27, which stated that Rahul Gandhi has allegedly defamed Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in his speech before the “Indian Diaspora in London” in March 2023.