Rahul Gandhi shuns truce offer, to face trial

NEW DELHI: Even as a lower court in Maharashtra will resume hearing the defamation case against Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, he is all set to face trial than accept an offer of ‘truce’ made by the complainant in the case.

The complainant is RSS functionary Raju Kunte. Kunte’s lawyer moved a written application in the court expressing his willingness to “withdraw” the case against Rahul Gandhi if he was ready to “accept his guilt”.

The defamation case against Rahul was filed over latter’s speech in Bhiwandi on March 6, 2014 in the run-up to Lok Sabha polls. At the rally, Rahul had allegedly claimed “the RSS people had killed Mahatma Gandhi.”

At the last hearing, Kunte’s lawyer had filed a purshis (written statement given to the court). Putting the offer on record, the lawyer submitted that “the complainant is ready to withdraw the present case if accused (Rahul Gandhi) is ready to accept his guilt and gives an undertaking that he will not commit such type of act again in future also.”

Making it clear, the application said: “It is further stated that the complainant is giving last opportunity to the accused to which the accused has not responded.”

Sources privy to the development told ET the Congress vice-president will, in all likelihood, turn down the offer made by the complainant on March 3, when the Bhiwandi Court resumes hearing the case.

Instead, Rahul’s lawyers are likely to seek notice of accusation from the court and demand commencement of trial.

Rahul’s lawyer, former Union minister Kapil Sibal, had told the bench that Rahul stands by each and every word and that he will never take his words back. RSS, on the other hand, had been accusing the Congress of trying to “avoid the trial and repeat the same, false allegations against the RSS.”