A Maharashtra court has issued summons to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case filed against him by a resident of Nashik for allegedly making objectionable remarks against Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.
The process was issued by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Nashik, Deepali Parimal Kaduskar on September 27, wherein she said that the "statement made against a patriotic person prima-facie appears defamatory".
Gandhi will have to appear either in person or through his counsel on the next date of the case, which is yet to be fixed.
The complainant, who is the director of an NGO, also claimed that he witnessed a press conference delivered by Gandhi in Hingoli, and he heard the speech delivered by the Congress leader in November 2022.
He also alleged that on both the occasions, by his words and visual representations Gandhi knowingly hurt the reputation of Veer Savarkar and also attempted to defame the latter's image in the society.
"The speech of the accused along with press statements try to ruin the reputation of the complainant's idol Swatantryaveer Savarkar and his contribution to the society along with his noble work in the pre-independence period," he said.
This is what the complaint states: Gandhi stated "Savarkar is BJP and RSS jin" which was defamatory in nature.
Gandhi further made allegations that "with a folding hand Savarkar prayed for release and later on promised to work for the British government," the complainant said.
The court, after considering all the submissions made before it, said, "Considering the record, it appears that the statements made by the accused against a patriotic person prima-facie seem to be defamatory."
There were enough grounds for proceed in the case, the magistrate added.
The court, therefore, issued the process against Gandhi for offences under Indian Penal Code sections 499 (defamation) and 504 (intentional insult).
Read also| Voter Turnout Surpasses 44% in Final Phase of J&K Polls as Enthusiasm Remains High
