Jammu & Kashmir
Nashik court summons Rahul Gandhi in defamation case
Nashik: A court in Maharashtra’s Nashik district has summoned Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case over his alleged remarks against Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.
On September 27, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Deepali Parimal Kaduskar issued the summons, stating that Gandhi’s comments appeared “prima facie defamatory” towards a patriotic figure. Gandhi must either appear in person or be represented by his lawyer on the case’s next hearing, which is yet to be scheduled.
The complaint was filed by an NGO director who claimed that Gandhi’s remarks during a November 2022 speech and a press conference in Hingoli intentionally tarnished Savarkar’s image. The complainant alleged that Gandhi defamed Savarkar by referring to him as “BJP and RSS jin” and accusing him of seeking his release by pledging to support the British government during the pre-independence era.
The court, after reviewing the evidence, found enough grounds to proceed with charges under IPC sections 499 (defamation) and 504 (intentional insult).