A court in Pune has directed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to appear in person on December 2 regarding a defamation case lodged against him by the grandnephew of Hindutva figure V D Savarkar.
Satyaki Savarkar filed a complaint in a Pune court, alleging that Rahul Gandhi, during a speech in London in March 2023, claimed that V D Savarkar had written in a book about an incident where he and five or six friends assaulted a Muslim man, which reportedly brought him joy.
According to the complaint, no such statement exists in Savarkar’s writings. The court directed the police to investigate the allegations and submit a report. The Vishrambaug police station conducted the inquiry and found prima facie evidence supporting the complaint.
Amol Shinde, a Joint Civil Judge and Judicial Magistrate (First Class), presided over the Special Court for MP/MLA on October 4 and summoned Gandhi to appear before it on October 23.
Gandhi, however, did not appear since it was reported that he had not received the summons.
The petitioner Satyaki Savarkar’s lawyer, advocate Sangram Kolhatkar, said he went to court on Monday in a petition to summon Gandhi to appear in court.
Gandhi’s lawyer, advocate Milind Pawar, went to court on his behalf and stated that the Congress leader will be in court on the following day.
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