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Pune: The grandnephew of the late Vinayak Damodar Savarkar has filed a criminal defamation complaint against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleging that the former Member of Parliament had made defamatory statements against Savarkar during his recent visit to the United Kingdom.
The complaint filed by Satyaki Savarkar stated that Gandhi had been “repeatedly defaming” Savarkar on various occasions over the years.
One such occasion arose on March 5, 2023, when Gandhi was addressing a gathering of the Overseas Congress at United Kingdom. The complainant claimed that Gandhi made intentionally wild allegations against Savarkar, knowing the same to be untrue, to harm his reputation.
“Gandhi has intentionally made false, malicious and wild allegations against Savarkar, fully knowing the said allegations to be untrue, with the specific objective of harming the reputation and to defame the surname ‘Savarkar’ and to hurt the feelings of the family of late Savarkar,” the complaint underscored.
The complainant also claimed that Gandhi deliberately uttered the words to cause mental agony to him and his family.
The complaint filed before a chief judicial magistrate in Pune stated that though the actual speech containing “defamatory imputations” was delivered by Gandhi in England, the effect was suffered in Pune as it was published and circulated throughout India.
“Gandhi is a habitual offender and has been regularly issuing defamatory statements against Savarkar and others. In fact, he has recently been convicted for criminal defamation in a case and has been sentenced to two years imprisonment. Further, there are at least five or six other cases for defamation pending against the Gandhi in various courts, for defaming other persons and organizations,” the complaint highlighted.
In view of the above, the complainant sought for Gandhi to be summoned and tried in accordance with law, and for maximum punishment to be awarded to him. He also sought compensation from the Congress leader.
