A Pune court on Tuesday granted Congress MP Rahul Gandhi a permanent exemption from appearing in a defamation case regarding his alleged controversial remarks about Hindutva ideologue V.D. Savarkar. The court cited Gandhi’s top-level security and his position as Leader of the Opposition as reasons for the exemption.
The order said that the court grants Rahul Gandhi permanent exemption from appearing in the case, considering that he is a “Z-plus” protectee and taking into account expenses incurred on his security arrangements (during Pune visit) and also law and order issues if he attends the hearing. Last month, the court gave bail to Rahul Gandhi after he virtually appeared before it in the case filed on a complaint of a grandnephew of Savarkar.
“Considering the facts (cited by Rahul Gandhi‘s lawyer), 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.
The next court hearing on the matter will take place on February 25.
An application seeking permanent exemption from appearing before the special court for MP/MLA was moved by Advocate Milind Pawar, who is representing Gandhi (54) in the defamation case, last month. Pawar said on Tuesday they moved another application to convert the present “summary trial” into “summons trial” so that historical references and evidence can be discussed in the court. “Summons trial” which entails detailed cross-examination is a lengthy legal proceeding as compared to “summary trial”.
Defamation case against Rahul Gandhi filed by Savarkar’s relative; Complaint cites remarks in 2023 London Speech
The case was initiated by a relative of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. Amol Shinde. The complaint arose from a speech given by the Congress leader in London in March 2023, during which he made remarks about the freedom fighter, referencing a book authored by Savarkar. Satyaki Savarkar, the grandnephew of the Hindutva ideologue, filed a complaint in a Pune court against Gandhi.
In the complaint, he alleged that Gandhi claimed VD Savarkar had written in a book that he and a few friends had once assaulted a Muslim man, and that Savarkar felt pleased about it. The complaint contended that VD Savarkar never made such a statement in any of his writings, and Gandhi’s remarks were defamatory.
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