Apologise or face trial: Supreme Court to Rahul on RSS-Gandhi remark

Senior RSS functionary Manmohan Vaidya said that the Congress had been “consistently trying to spread lies and baseless allegations” about the Sangh and that the Supreme Court ruling has “exposed” the party.

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On Tuesday, hearing a criminal defamation case filed by an RSS member against the Congress leader for those remarks, a bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Rohinton F Nariman told Rahul’s counsel Harin P Raval: “Why did you make a sweeping statement against the RSS, painting everyone associated with the organisation in the same brush?”

It said: “Why he (Rahul) made a speech quoting wrong historical fact…What we have to see is whether the petitioner’s allegations come under Section 499 (defamation) of IPC or not. Our judgment upholding its validity is already there. You will have to face trial if you don’t express regret.”

In March 2014, while addressing an election rally in Thane’s Bhiwandi, Rahul had said: “RSS people killed Gandhiji and today their people (BJP) talk of him…They opposed Sardar Patel and Gandhiji.”

Raval sought to defend Rahul by saying whatever was said was on the basis of government records. The senior counsel added that Rahul’s statement had further relied on the decision of Punjab and Haryana High Court regarding Nathuram Godse’s association with the RSS.

But the bench, after perusing the High Court judgment, retorted that it only said that Godse was an RSS worker. “To say Godse killed Gandhi is one thing but to say RSS killed Gandhi is different…you have gone way ahead in making the statement…you cannot make collective denunciation,” said the bench.

Responding to Raval, the bench said freedom of speech is not crippled by upholding the validity of the criminal defamation law, but it had to be ensured that there is not anarchy.

“We have upheld the defamation law. The purpose of the law is to obey law so that there is harmony rather than anarchy…your freedom is not crippled or cut. Everyday, a writer, a politician will say something and you must have great magnitude to swallow. The purpose of the law is not to turn people into litigants. Purpose of law is that people obey law. Peace and harmony should prevail rather than chaos,” the bench said.

The bench also asked Raval to show how Rahul’s statement served any public good and how it was not a matter of trial since his act was immune under the law on criminal defamation.

“History is the greatest enemy of privacy. Over the years, attempts have been made to enter the lives of historically eminent personalities to give a new dimension…criticism of government is one thing and criticism of a historical figure is another thing. Your statement has to meet the test of public good,” said the bench.

At this, Raval sought an adjournment for two weeks as senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who was supposed to argue the matter, was not available. But the bench turned down the request and fixed the next hearing on July 27. The court made it clear it would not grant another adjournment.

Deciding on a clutch of petitions moved separately by Rahul, BJP MP Subramanian Swamy and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the court had refused to de-criminalise defamation, a penal offence punishable with two years in jail apart from a monetary penalty.

Through a separate petition, Rahul has sought the quashing of the criminal defamation case pending against him at a court in Thane’s Bhiwandi for his comments, following a complaint lodged by Rajesh Kunte, secretary of the local RSS unit.

Meanwhile, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said that his party would not comment on “any remark made or any exchange between the counsel and the Judge… as we hold the Supreme Court in high regard and the matter is sub judice”.

But he ruled out any apology or expression of regret, saying that such a suggestion “has been made in the past and Gandhi had rejected it”.

“Gandhi is a seasoned and mature politician with intricate understanding of history. And Congress party and Gandhi stand by the remark,” he said.

“Rahul Gandhi had challenged the constitutionality of section 499/500 of IPC as also the order of the High Court in Maharashtra. A Special Leave Petition challenging the order of the High Court is pending before Supreme Court and has been merely adjourned for July 23 without passing any order,” said Surjewala.

RSS’s Vaidya, meanwhile, accused the Congress of trying to “avoid the trial and repeat the same, false allegations against RSS”.

“It seems he does not have faith in India’s legal system nor any respect for it,” he said.

RSS ideologue Rakesh Sinha tweeted that the “court’s observation on Rahul Gandhi on his allegation on RSS is a slap on his face, exposes dynasty’s politics of lies”.

“For generations, the Nehru-Gandhi family has been spreading lies about RSS by linking it with the killing of Gandhi,” he said, adding that “Rahul Gandhi must now apologise to the nation and the RSS.”

(With inputs from ENS/Delhi)