The Supreme Court on Friday took stern exception to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s comments against Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar, even as it stayed the criminal defamation proceedings against him before a Lucknow court in this connection. “You don’t treat freedom fighters like this…,” a bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Manmohan told Gandhi, cautioning that it would initiate suo motu proceedings against him if he repeated such statements in the future. Justice Datta pointed out to senior advocate A M Singhvi, who appeared for Gandhi, that even Mahatma Gandhi had used the expression “your faithful servant” in communications to the then viceroy, wondering if he too would be called “servant of the British” for that. “Does your client know Mahatma Gandhi also used ‘your faithful servant’ while addressing the viceroy? Does your client know that his grandmother, when she was the Prime Minister, also sent a letter praising the gentleman (Savarkar). You don’t treat freedom fighters like this when you know the history. Why do you comment like this?” Justice Datta asked. “Let him not make irresponsible statements about the freedom fighters. Is this the way you treat freedom fighters?” the judge told the senior counsel. Singhvi said the Congress leader had no intention of creating animosity. To this, Justice Datta said, “He is a political leader of a political party? You go to Maharashtra and make a statement? He (Savarkar) is worshipped there. Don’t do this.” The judge added that he had come across even judges of the Calcutta High Court addressing the Chief Justice as “your servant” during those days. The bench said it was inclined to give Gandhi relief in the pending proceedings as he had a “good case on law”. Justice Datta, however, cautioned that it will not take any further statements about freedom fighters kindly. “We will grant you stay… but we will restrain you. Let’s be clear, any further statement and we will take suo moto and no question of sanction! We will not allow you to speak anything about .the freedom fighters. They have given us freedom,” Justice Datta said. The Lucknow court had summoned Gandhi following a complaint by advocate Nripendra Pandey, who alleged that in 2022, while in Maharashtra, Gandhi had called Savarkar a “servant of British” who “received a pension from them”. Though he challenged this before the Allahabad High Court, the same was rejected by the high court on April 4, 2024.
