A special court in Pune has summoned Rahul Gandhi in connection with a criminal defamation case brought by Satyaki Savarkar, the grandnephew of Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. The complaint alleges that Gandhi made objectionable statements about Savarkar during a speech in London in March 2023.
The court issued the summons on Friday, requiring Gandhi to appear on October 23. Satyaki Savarkar's complaint, filed last year, claims that Gandhi inaccurately stated that V.D. Savarkar had written about an incident where he and a group allegedly assaulted a Muslim man, an assertion Satyaki Savarkar labeled as "fictitious, false, and malicious."
The case was moved to the special court for MPs and MLAs from the Judicial Magistrate First Class court last month. Advocate Sangram Kolhatkar, representing Satyaki Savarkar, informed PTI that the court, led by Joint Civil Judge and Judicial Magistrate (First Class) Amol Shinde, emphasized the necessity of Gandhi's attendance to address charges under Section 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code.
Following the court's directive, local police investigated the matter and found prima facie evidence supporting the allegations.