Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has pleaded innocent in a criminal defamation case filed against him over remarks he made on freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar during a speech in London.
On Friday, July 11, Special Judge Amol Shinde recorded Gandhi's plea in the case. Though Gandhi was not personally present in the court, he filed an application through his lawyer Milind Pawar, requesting the court to allow his plea to be filed through his lawyer. The court accepted the request and began proceedings accordingly.
"Do you consider yourself innocent?" the judge asked.
"No, I don't consider myself innocent," Pawar replied on behalf of Gandhi.
The court read out the relevant portion of Gandhi's speech and said that the material on record and the complaint prima facie attract charges under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which deals with punishment for defamation.
With the petition being filed, Rahul Gandhi will now face trial in the case.
The defamation complaint was filed by Satyaki Savarkar, a descendant of Vinayak Savarkar. He alleged that Gandhi made false and malicious allegations against the late leader with an aim to harm his reputation and cause emotional distress to his family.
The incident took place during Gandhi's address to the Overseas Congress in the UK on March 5, 2023. The speech, though delivered abroad, was reportedly widely broadcast in India, including Pune, making it actionable under Indian law.
"Rahul Gandhi had accused Savarkar of describing an incident in a book in which he and his friends thrashed a Muslim man for pleasure. The complaint argues that this is completely fabricated and no such description exists in any of Savarkar's writings."
Satyaki submitted news clippings and a YouTube video of Gandhi's London speech as evidence. He claimed that these comments were not only untrue but were deliberately made to tarnish the image of Vinayak Savarkar.
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The complaint also seeks maximum punishment under Section 500 of the IPC and compensation under Section 357 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
Appearance:
- Advocate Milind Pawar appeared on behalf of Rahul Gandhi.
- The complainant, Satyaaki Savarkar, was represented by advocate Sangram Kolhatkar.