Don't Comment On Court Orders If You Haven't Challenged Them: Pune Special Court Tells Rahul Gandhi In Savarkar Defamation Case
A Special MP/MLA Court in Pune earlier this week directed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi not to comment on its orders, which he has chosen not to challenge before a higher court.
For context, in the ongoing trial against Gandhi for delivering a speech allegedly defaming right-wing leader Vinayak Savarkar, in London, the Leader Of Opposition (LOP) had in an application filed earlier stated that the complainant Satyaki Savarkar "obtained" summons order through his own "over reach" and not through lawful proof.
Special Judge Amol Shinde noted that the summons order, on which Gandhi commented through his lawyer Milind Pawar, was never challenged by him before any higher court. The judge thus opined that the LOP should not comment on court orders in this manner.
"This court finds that, if accused has any grievances against the issuance of summons order then he should challenge it before the appropriate Court. But, he cannot make any comment on the order which he did not challenge. Either he has to accept the order or he has to challenge the order before the appropriate court. Therefore, this court directs that, accused shall not make any comment on any order which has become final or unchallenged. Therefore, this application is disposed off as above direction," the judge observed in the order passed on December 02.
The judge, however, did not allow the prayer made by Satyaki in the instant application that an explanation be sought from Gandhi for his conduct of raising serious doubts on the functioning of the court.