Savarkar defamation case: Two pen drives submitted as evidence

The move comes after an earlier hearing where a CD—also submitted by the complainant and said to contain the same London speech—was found to be blank when played in court, raising questions over the credibility of the evidence.

Pune: Satyaki Savarkar, who has filed a defamation case against Rahul Gandhi, on Thursday submitted two pen drives in the court having the Congress leader’s speech.

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The case filed against the Leader of Opposition was heard on Thursday before the Special MP/MLA court presided over by Judge Amol Shinde.

During the proceedings, complainant Satyaki’s counsel, Sangram Kolhatkar, submitted two pen drives, stating they contained the recording of Rahul’s London speech, which forms the core of the complaint. Kolhatkar requested that the court play the contents of the pen drives in the courtroom.

The move comes after an earlier hearing where a CD—also submitted by the complainant and said to contain the same London speech—was found to be blank when played in court, raising questions over the credibility of the evidence.

Rahul’s counsel Milind Pawar strongly objected to the submission of the pen drives at this stage. He questioned both the procedure adopted by the complainant and the admissibility of fresh electronic evidence, arguing that such material could not be introduced midway without following due process.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the court adjourned the matter on the issue. The request to play the pen drives, along with the objections raised, will be taken up for further hearing on December 16.

The defamation complaint was filed by Satyaki, grand-nephew of Veer Savarkar, under Section 500 of the IPC. In his complaint, he has alleged that Rahul Gandhi made false and defamatory remarks about Veer Savarkar during a March 2023 speech in London, including the claim that Savarkar wrote about enjoying assaulting a Muslim man in one of his books.