Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has received a major legal relief from the Supreme Court in the case related to his remarks about Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. The apex court has quashed the summons issued against Rahul Gandhi by a Lucknow court. The criminal defamation proceedings based on this complaint have also been dropped.
The case was heard by a bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu in the Supreme Court. During the hearing, an affidavit filed by the Uttar Pradesh government was presented to the court. It stated that no records related to the necessary permission to prosecute the case were available. Taking this into account, the Supreme Court ordered the lower court proceedings to be quashed.
What is the whole matter?
This controversy relates to a speech given by Rahul Gandhi in Akola district, Maharashtra, in November 2022. At that time, the Congress party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra was in Maharashtra, and Rahul Gandhi was addressing a public meeting. During this, he made a comment regarding Savarkar. Lawyer Nripendra Pandey objected to his statement and filed a complaint in the court, calling it defamatory.
The complainant alleged that Rahul Gandhi attempted to tarnish Savarkar’s reputation through his statement. Based on the complaint, a lower court in Lucknow issued summons to Rahul Gandhi. Following this, Rahul Gandhi challenged this legal action and approached the Supreme Court.
Previous Comments Made
During the previous hearing of this case, the Supreme Court expressed displeasure over Rahul Gandhi’s statement. The court urged public figures to exercise greater responsibility when making statements about figures of historical and national importance. However, at the same time, an interim stay was imposed on the summons issued by the lower court.
Now, after the Uttar Pradesh government’s affidavit revealed that the necessary permission was not available, the Supreme Court quashed the complaint and the magistrate’s related orders.
Rahul Gandhi Gets Relief
This Supreme Court ruling provides immediate legal relief to Rahul Gandhi in the Lucknow case related to the Savarkar comment. However, this order applies to this specific complaint and the proceedings related to it. It will not automatically apply to any other case related to Savarkar.
Following this ruling, the proceedings against Rahul Gandhi in this case in the Lucknow court will not proceed. The court’s order was primarily based on the unavailability of records related to the necessary permission.
