Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was released by the British government due to growing public pressure and political efforts for his freedom, and not because of the mercy petitions he had submitted, his grandnephew Satyaki Savarkar told a Pune court on Wednesday.
Satyaki made the statement while being cross-examined by advocate Milind Pawar, representing Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, in the criminal defamation case filed against Gandhi over his remarks on VD Savarkar.
During the hearing, portions of the mercy petitions allegedly submitted by Savarkar to the British authorities were presented before the complainant. Satyaki told the court that he could not confirm whether the contents of the petitions were written by Savarkar or whether Savarkar had sought release on specific conditions.
“I don’t know that the contents of the above petition are written by Savarkar. I cannot say that Savarkar requested to release him on any condition in his mercy petition. I cannot say that Savarkar had requested the British government to release him on the condition that he would not participate in any political and revolutionary movement,” he stated in his deposition.
However, he added that Savarkar’s release was not a result of those petitions. He said public pressure and political resolutions demanding Savarkar’s release had played a key role.
{{/usCountry}}However, he added that Savarkar’s release was not a result of those petitions. He said public pressure and political resolutions demanding Savarkar’s release had played a key role.
{{/usCountry}}“Savarkar was not released because of the petitions he sent. In 1923, the Kakinada Congress session, under the presidentship of Mohammad Ali Johar, passed a resolution demanding Savarkar’s release. His popularity was increasing day by day and public pressure for his release was also increasing,” Satyaki told the court.
During the cross-examination, Satyaki also said that if the Congress had passed a similar resolution before the execution of freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev, their execution could have been avoided.
The defamation case was filed by Satyaki in 2023 against Gandhi, alleging that the Congress leader made defamatory remarks about VD Savarkar during a speech in London in March that year.
The complaint alleges that Gandhi falsely claimed Savarkar had written in a book about assaulting a Muslim man and deriving pleasure from the act. Satyaki has maintained that Savarkar never made such a statement in any of his writings.