After a Special MP/MLA Court in Pune rejected his plea to intervene in the ongoing criminal defamation case against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for allegedly defaming right-wing ideologue Vinayak Savarkar, Pankaj Phadnis has moved the Bombay High Court claiming that the special court is dealing with issues far outside its jurisdiction and is trying to determine whether Savarkar was brave or a coward.

Phadnis, a professor by profession, claims to have 'expert knowledge' about Savarkar's life, had last week filed an intervention application in the defamation proceedings initiated against Gandhi at the behest of Savarkar's grand-nephew Satyaki Savarkar.

However, Special Judge Amol Shinde had rejected his plea and imposed Rs 20,000 costs on him for wasting the court's time.

Challenging this very order, Phadnis has now moved the High Court by filing an interim application in a pending Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that he had filed in 2024 for creating awareness about Savarkar. He has urged the High Court to stay the proceedings of the Savarkar Defamation Case against Gandhi and to further appoint an Amicus to examine what all evidence is taken on record, by the special court, is not relevant to the original complaint filed by Satyaki against Gandhi.

In his interim application, Phadnis has accused the Special Court of indulging in judicial indiscipline by passing perverse order.

"The IA has being filed for bringing to notice of this Court that the proceedings in the Special Court in Pune is dealing with issues far outside its jurisdiction - trying to determine whether Savarkar was brave or coward, indulging in judicial indiscipline and passing perverse orders," the IA reads.

Further, the petitioner claimed that he chose to intervene in the proceedings before the Pune Court after coming across a news report which stated that Satyaki, in his cross-examination, has told the court that Savarkar filed 10 mercy petitions.

In his IA, Phadnis claimed that basis his research on Savarkar, he has concluded that the right-wing ideologue is a great person and is worthy of respect. He cited certain views of Savarkar especially on 'secularism ', as to how different religions add 'beauty' to Indian society like different colours make a 'rainbow' beautiful.

Phadnis claimed that a great 'disservice' was done to Savarkar by some of his followers like Godse, who 'conspired to murder Mahatma Gandhi, some who think minorities are to be considered as 'second class citizens', etc.

"I was shocked to see a newspaper report on June 15, 2026 that showed that the defamation case was proceeding on subjects that had nothing to do with the complaint filed by Satyaki against Gandhi. An individual's contribution to freedom struggle and whether he was brave or not cannot be subject matter of judicial determination. That lies in the domain of the Parliament, which has already spoken on the subject by displaying his portrait in the Parliament by unanimous consent of all political parties including the Indian National Congress," the plea reads.

Phadnis argues that the subject before the Special Court in Pune is whether or not Savarkar, in any of his books, wrote anything about him and his friends beating up a Muslim and being satisfied from the same and that nothing beyond this very aspect can be discussed in the said court.

"Whether Savarkar was a coward and whether cowardice was his ideology can never be a matter of judicial determination. That is best left to the Parliament and the Government. The Special Judge has exceeded his jurisdiction in permitting Gandhi and Satyaki to travel beyond the scope of the judicially determinable aspect of the complaint filed by Satyaki and get into areas of political history, which are not amenable to judicial adjudication," the plea states.

Phadnis has further accused the Special Judge of exceeding his jurisdiction by ignoring his contention that he has a 'right to meaningful life' under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, which is being violated by Rahul Gandhi due to his constant denigration of Savarkar, who he (Phadnis) and a very large number of Indians including Prime Ministers cutting across the party lines, hold in high esteem.

The IA is likely to come up before a division bench in due course.

The Supreme Court had earlier refused to entertain a petition filed by Phadnis seeking steps to prevent insults to Savarkar.

About the case in Pune Court

The Pune Court is handling a criminal defamation complaint filed by Satyaki Savarkar, grandnephew of VD Savarkar, against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over the latter's remarks that Savarkar had boasted in his book about beating up a Muslim man.

During cross-examination by Rahul Gandhi's lawyer, Satyaki said that Savarkar had written mercy letters to the British, and that the title "Swatantryaveer" was not conferred on him by any Government. Satyaki further stated that Savarkar had written a book criticising religious rituals, questioning the existence of God, and disapproving of the worship of cow as a deity. Satyaki further stated that Nathuram Godse and Gopal Godse were active RSS members.

Case Title: Prof Dr Pankaj K Phadnis vs Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha [Interim Application (L) 28744 of 2026]