The Supreme Court on Friday rebuked Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi for his remarks on Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and warned him not to make such statements in the future, or else it can lead to serious consequences. The apex court made these remarks while staying the Allahabad High Court order refusing to quash the summons issued to the Congress by a trial court in Uttar Pradesh.
While hearing the Savarkar defamation case filed against Gandhi, the top court said, ‘They gave us freedom, and you treat them like this,’ as quoted by news agency PTI. Asking him to avoid such remarks in future, SC asserted that in future it may take suo motu cognisance.
The decision came a day after Rahul Gandhi moved the Supreme Court challenging the Allahabad HC, which refused to quash summons against him in a case of defamatory remarks against Savarkar. A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Manmohan heard the matter. The defamation case stems from Gandhi’s comments on Savarkar made on November 17, 2022, during his Bharat Jodo Yatra at a rally in Maharashtra’s Akola district.
The bench asked senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the Congress leader, as to whether Rahul Gandhi knew that even Mahatama Gandhi used words like “your faithful servant” in his communications with the Britishers. The top court issued notices to complainant Nripendra Pandey, who filed a complaint accusing Rahul Gandhi for “intentionally” insulting Savarkar during a rally, and the Uttar Pradesh government, on the Congress leader’s plea seeking their responses.
Speaking during the Maharashtra leg of his yatra last year, the former Congress chief had claimed that Savarkar, during his incarceration under British rule, wrote to the colonial masters pleading for clemency. The Lucknow bench of the high court on April 4 said that Gandhi can file a revision petition before the sessions court, making the high court’s intervention unnecessary at this stage.
Gandhi, the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, challenged a subordinate court’s decision to summon him in the case, while contesting the ongoing proceedings against him. Advocate Pandey filed a complaint, accusing Gandhi of intentionally insulting Savarkar during the rally. The complainant alleged Gandhi’s remarks were part of a well-planned conspiracy to defame Savarkar.
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