Pune court grants bail to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in Veer Savarkar defamation case

A special court in Pune granted bail to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday in a criminal defamation case filed by the grandnephew of Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. The case stems from allegations that Gandhi made objectionable remarks about the late freedom fighter during a speech in London last year.

The defamation complaint was lodged by Satyaki Savarkar, the grandnephew of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, who accused Rahul Gandhi of making false claims during his March 2023 speech in London.

In the speech, Gandhi had allegedly stated that VD Savarkar had written in a book about an incident where he and a few friends beat up a Muslim man, with Savarkar reportedly feeling "happy" about it.


Satyaki Savarkar strongly denied these allegations, calling them "fictitious, false, and malicious." He further asserted that no such incident had ever occurred, and that VD Savarkar had never written anything to this effect. In his complaint, Savarkar said that Gandhi's statements were damaging to the reputation of his great-granduncle.

Following the complaint, the Pune court directed police to investigate the matter. The Vishrambaug police station conducted the inquiry and concluded that there was prima facie evidence supporting the allegations of defamation.

Gandhi’s lawyer sought an exemption from his last court appearance on December 3 due to the ongoing winter session of Parliament at the time. The court granted a temporary exemption but had warned that strict action would be taken if Gandhi failed to appear at the next hearing, scheduled for January 10.