Bombay HC Relief For Rahul Gandhi In 2014 RSS Defamation Case

The Bombay High Court on Friday quashed a magistrate's order permitting a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker to “belatedly” produce fresh and additional documents in a pending criminal defamation complaint.

In 2014, RSS worker Rajesh Kunte had lodged a defamation complaint before the Bhiwandi magistrate's court, alleging that Congress leader  had made false and defamatory statements during a speech that the right-wing outfit was responsible for the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. 

The magistrate in Bhiwandi, in 2023, permitted Kunte to submit the transcript of Gandhi's speech. Gandhi has attached the transcript to his petition seeking quashing of the summons issued to him by the magistrate in Kunte’s complaint.

Kunte contended that by including the transcript as part of his petition, Gandhi had "unambiguously owned up to the speech and its contents".

Gandhi approached the HC challenging magistrate's order permitting Kunte to attack the transcript. He contended that permitting  Kunte to submit fresh documents at this stage was "completely illegal and prejudicial".

Allowing Gandhi’s petition, Justice Prithviraj Chavan said: "The petition is allowed. Impugned order and consequent exhibition of documents are quashed and set aside. The magistrate court is directed to proceed with the trial regarding the exhibit in accordance with the observations made in the order.”

The HC also directed the magistrate to deal with the trial expeditiously and asked both parties to cooperate.

The documents submitted by Kunte include parts of a Gandhi’s  petition filed in 2014 by which the Congress leader challenged the summons issued by the Bhiwandi court then. It includes a copy of the transcript of the alleged speech made by Gandhi from a CD containing the purported live telecast of the programme, which was annexed as an exhibit to the petition.