Savarkar Defamation Case: Pune Court Allows Rahul Gandhi To Have Copies Of Books Written By Savarkar
In a development in the Savarkar defamation case, a Special MP/MLA Court in Pune allowed an application filed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to have copies of the two books authored by the Hindu Mahasabha leader, which are relied on as evidence by the complainant Satyaki Savarkar (grand nephewof Savarkar).Special Judge Amol Shinde allowed the application filed by Gandhi through his...
In a development in the Savarkar defamation case, a Special MP/MLA Court in Pune allowed an application filed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to have copies of the two books authored by the Hindu Mahasabha leader, which are relied on as evidence by the complainant Satyaki Savarkar (grand nephewof Savarkar).
Special Judge Amol Shinde allowed the application filed by Gandhi through his counsel Milind Pawar, seeking the copies of the two books - "Majhi Janmathep" (My Life Sentence) and "Hindutva" - authored by Savarkar.
Confirming the development, Pawar told Live Law, "We had asked for the copies of the two books along with other material like the news paper cuttings and the video of the speech basis on which the complainant alleged defamation. The special court allowed our application on Friday."
According to Pawar, the first book (Majhi Janmathep) details Savarkar's time in the cell at Andaman as to the treatment he was meted out etc. "The second book is about his idea of dividing the nation into two different countries based on religion, which he wrote in 193," Pawar explained.
Now, the court has ordered the complainant Satyaki Savarkar to hand over the two books along with other material to Pawar. Further, the Gandhi counsel has been asked to file his say in the matter after going through these two books.
The matter has been adjourned till May 9.
Background:
The defamation complaint asserts that Gandhi has repeatedly defamed Savarkar on various occasions over the years. One specific incident highlighted was on March 5, 2023, when Gandhi addressed the Overseas Congress in the United Kingdom.
The complainant - Satyaki Savarkar (grand nephew of VD Savarkar) has claimed that Gandhi made intentionally wild allegations against Savarkar, knowing them to be untrue, with the intention of harming Savarkar's reputation and causing mental agony to the complainant and his family. The complaint states that the defamatory speech was delivered in England, but its impact was felt in Pune as it was published and circulated throughout India.
Satyaki, in his complaint, has submitted several news reports and a YouTube link to a video of Gandhi's speech in London as evidence. He has claimed that Gandhi falsely accused Savarkar of writing a book in which he described beating up a Muslim person, which Savarkar never wrote and such an incident never happened.
Satyaki argued that Gandhi made these false, malicious, and wild allegations with the specific objective of defaming Savarkar and harming his reputation.
The criminal defamation application filed by Satyaki demands maximum punishment for Gandhi under Section 500 (Punishment for defamation) of the IPC and seeks imposition of maximum compensation as per Section 357 (Order to pay compensation) of the CrPC.
Earlier, the Court had allowed Gandhi's application to convert the case as summons trial from summary trial in order to bring historical evidence on record.