Savarkar’s advocate wants Rahul Gandhi summoned over court submissions

He submitted that several frivolous and misleading applications and pursis have been filed on behalf of Gandhi, including one dated August 13, which was later withdrawn

In the ongoing defamation case filed by Satyaki Savarkar against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Advocate Sangram Kolhatkar on Wednesday (September 10) filed an application before the Special MP/ MLA court raising concerns over Gandhi’s conduct in the proceedings. He submitted that several frivolous and misleading applications and pursis have been filed on behalf of Gandhi, including one dated August 13, which was later withdrawn. Advocate Kolhatkar has requested the court to take Gandhi’s conduct on record and issue directions to ensure that all future filings are made only with his knowledge and consent.

dvocate Kolhatkar has requested the court to take Gandhi’s conduct on record and issue directions to ensure that all future filings are made only with his knowledge and consent. (HT)

Citing the filing and abrupt withdrawal of a pursis (written submission) dated August 13, which flagged a potential threat to Gandhi’s life from followers of the Savarkar ideology, Adv Kolhatkar said such conduct reflects a pattern of abuse of legal process, intended to malign the complainant’s family and delay proceedings. The plea comes shortly after Advocate Milind Pawar, representing Gandhi, admitted in court that the August 13 pursis was submitted “without consulting” his client and would be withdrawn.

Kolhatkar, in his application, has now sought directions from the court to summon Gandhi in person and compel him to file an affidavit clarifying whether previous applications and pursis, including the August 13 submission, were filed with his knowledge and under his instructions. He also urged the court to mandate that Gandhi personally attest or countersign all future filings to prevent what he called a “miscarriage of justice.”

“The accused, being Leader of the Opposition, has acted irresponsibly and in a manner intended to tarnish the image of Veer Savarkar and the complainant’s family,” Kolhatkar submitted, adding that Gandhi’s actions have led to “deliberate delays” and “unwarranted humiliation of the Savarkar legacy.”

Kolhatkar further alleged that the now-withdrawn pursis again invoked Nathuram Godse, Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin, without any relevance to the matter at hand. He said such references serve no legal purpose and only aim to “assassinate the character” of Savarkar and his descendants.

The submission also notes that Gandhi, in earlier submissions, attempted to connect the complainant’s late mother, Himani Savarkar, with the 2008 Malegaon blast case despite her never being named an accused and all accused being recently acquitted by the NIA Court in Mumbai. The mention, Kolhatkar argued, was a malicious attempt to drag the Savarkar family into unrelated criminal allegations.

“Unless this defect is rectified now,” Kolhatkar’s plea states, “the accused may attempt to later disown or detach himself from these pleadings, causing irreparable harm to the complainant.”

The original defamation case filed under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) arises from Rahul Gandhi’s remarks made in a public speech in March 2023, where he allegedly claimed that Savarkar had written in a book about taking pleasure in assaulting a muslim man, a charge the complainant has denied as baseless and defamatory. The court has scheduled the next hearing in the matter for September 22.