Grandnephew opposes Rahul’s plea to present historical facts in Savarkar defamation case

Rahul Gandhi's request to provide "historical facts and evidence" before a Pune court to back up his statements from a 2023 speech that resulted in a defamation complaint has been objected to by the grandson of Hindutva idealogue VD Savarkar.

Rahul Gandhi's comments in London in March 2023, in which he claimed that VD Savarkar and his followers had attacked a Muslim man and found it "pleasurable," were the subject of a defamation lawsuit launched in April 2023 by Satyaki Ashok Savarkar, a Hindutva activist from Maharashtra.

The matter is scheduled to be heard by the Pune court on March 19. Rahul Gandhi's claim was denied by Satyaki Savarkar when he filed the complaint, claiming that VD Savarkar had not made any reference to such incidents in his writings.

Gandhi recently pleaded with the Pune court, where the case is being heard, to change the trial's format from a summary trial to a summons trial so that he could provide specific evidence and historical facts, Siasat Daily reported.

Savarkar, however, took issue with this, saying, “The accused (Rahul Gandhi) has raised issues regarding certain historical facts, which are irrelevant to the core subject matter of this case.”

Court to hear the case on March 19

The Pune court is scheduled to hear the defamation lawsuit on March 19, with the court previously granting permanent exemption from appearing in court in the matter.

The counsel for Rahul Gandhi stated that Gandhi's life could be jeopardised in Pune because the city is Naturam Godse's hometown and the complainant, Satyaki Ashok Savarkar, is a descendent of VD Savarkar, against whom the murder of Mahatma Gandhi was levelled.

VD Savarkar was later cleared of the charge, but Naturam Godse was found guilty and sentenced to death.