A special court in Pune dealing with MP/MLA cases on Tuesday granted permanent exemption to Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi from personally appearing for trial in a defamation case that was filed against him over his alleged objectionable remarks on freedom fighter and Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar.
Gandhi had last month submitted an application in this regard, under Section 205 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), before special judge Amol Shinde of the MP/MLAs court, through his lawyer Milind Pawar.
The application mentioned issues regarding the security of Pune district court. “….in the past offence of murder has taken place in the premises of Pune district court…. It was transpired in past investigations that militants have visited the court premises for committing murder of an accused who was in judicial custody…,” it stated.
The application further stated, “The Pune district court is a historic monument. Some years ago, threats for bombing were also extended. The complainant is claiming to be alleged descendent of late V D Savarkar against whom the accusation of murder of father of nation i.e. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi alias Mahatma Gandhi was levelled.”
The application said that while V D Savarkar was acquitted in the said murder case, the co-accused Nathuram Godse, who was convicted and awarded death sentence, was from Pune. “The trial involves larger and numerous issues related to late V D Savarkar. The above episode is one among them,” the application stated.
Besides, the application also mentioned that Rahul Gandhi is the son and grandson of former Prime Ministers of India, who were brutally killed by “bad elements of society.”
“Accused (Rahul Gandhi) is protected by Z-plus security. The expenses of the security are considerable…. Accused is required to perform his official duties on a day-to-day basis and also have to attend various official, political and social programs all over India with prior approval of his security…,” stated the application.
Sangram Kolhatkar, the advocate for Satyaki Savarkar who filed the defamation case against Gandhi, said, “As per law, the application under CrPC section 205 cannot be challenged. We did not object to it but told the court that grounds mentioned by the accused, such as security of Pune court and Nathuram Godse was a Pune resident, are unrelated.”
Judge Amol Shinde, in his order, stated that the accused (Rahul Gandhi) is the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and has to attend several meetings.
“Considering the facts, this court finds that the accused is the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha. He has to attend many programmes…. he is protected by Z+ security. The expenses of security are considerable. Due to law and order issue, this court finds that the accused should be granted permanent exemption from appearing in this case,” the judge said.
On January 10, Gandhi virtually appeared before the MP MLAs court in Pune. The court had then granted him bail. Subsequently, he filed an application seeking a permanent exemption from appearing personally in the court during the trial. The court allowed the application today stating that his counsel should remain present for every hearing of the case.
Plea for ‘summon trial’
On Tuesday, advocate Milind Pawar also filed an application before the court, as per Section 258 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, praying that the case may be “conducted as a summon trial in the interest of justice.”
Pawar said that the registrar of the court had registered it as a “summary trial” case. He said the present case raises complex questions of facts as well as law. “Hence, it requires searching and detailed cross-examination, which may not be permissible under summary trial,” he said.
“The trial of this case may take a long time and it shall be incumbent in the interest of justice that this case be tried as a summons case,” Pawar said in his application.
The application also stated that complainant (Satyaki) has attempted to demonstrate V D Savarkar’s big contribution in achieving Independence from British rulers. It then mentioned that a true account of Savarkar’s role in the historical movements should be brought before the court.
The special court directed Satyaki’s lawyer to file a say on this application during the next hearing on February 25.
The case
It may be recalled that V D Savarkar’s grandnephew Satyaki Savarkar had filed a complaint before a Pune court against Gandhi for allegedly making defamatory remarks against Savarkar in London on March 5, 2023.
According to Satyaki, Gandhi had said that Savarkar had written a book in which he stated that he (Savarkar) and five to six of his friends were beating up a Muslim and were ‘delighted’ about it.
Satyaki said Savarkar had not written any such book as claimed by Gandhi, nor has such an incident ever happened. In his petition, Satyaki had stated that Gandhi had intentionally made false, malicious and wild allegations against Savarkar.
As per directions of the court, the Vishrambag police station of Pune city police conducted an inquiry and submitted a report on May 27, 2024, that Gandhi had allegedly defamed Savarkar in his speech before the Indian diaspora in London in March 2023.
Savarkar defamation case: Rahul Gandhi’s plea cites threats in Pune court and Nathuram Godse; Court grants exemption from personal appearance during trial
Sangram Kolhatkar, the advocate for Satyaki Savarkar who filed the defamation case against Rahul Gandhi, said, "As per law, the application under CrPC section 205 cannot be challenged (Archives) 
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