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Journalism of Courage
The grandnephew of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Satyaki Savarkar, on Wednesday moved a court in Pune with a criminal defamation complaint against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of making false malicious allegations against Savarkar at an event during his recent visit to the UK.
Satyaki said, “I have submitted the criminal defamation complaint against Rahul Gandhi in court today. The court is yet to admit the plea and we expect it to happen on Saturday, when a registration number will be assigned to it.”
Satyaki, 40, is grandson of Narayan Damodar Savarkar, brother of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.
Asked about the complaint, Satyaki said, “While talking at event in London, Rahul Gandhi has said that (Vinayak Damodar) Savarkar has penned a book in which he has written that he (Savarkar) and five-six of his friends were beating 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, Satyaki said, Savarkar did not write any such book, as claimed by the Congress leader, “nor has such an incident ever happened”.
In his plea, Satyaki has stated, “The Accused, for reasons best known to him, has been repeatedly defaming and abusing Late Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in various occasions for many years… He 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…. The accused has deliberately uttered these words and sentences which were hurtful to the feelings of his family members and near relatives, followers of Late Savarkar and also would spark communal spark [tension] between two religions.”
He stated in the plea,. “The accused [should] be summoned and tried in accordance with the law. Maximum punishment, as contemplated under Section 500 (Punishment for defamation) of the Indian Penal Code may kindly be imposed on the accused. Maximum compensation may kindly be imposed upon the accused according to Section 357 (Order to pay compensation) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.”
On March 23, a court in Surat had convicted Rahul Gandhi of criminal defamation for his 2019 remark on the Modi surname and sentenced him to two years in jail. This had led to his disqualification as a Lok Sabha MP. The Congress leader subsequently moved the sessions court, which granted him bail on April 3 and kept the hearing on his plea for a stay of conviction on April 13.
