Pune: A special court hearing a defamation case against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his alleged remarks about Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar on Wednesday said he should not comment on any order which has become final, or which he did not challenge.
Gandhi's lawyer, advocate Milind Pawar had filed an application before the Judicial Magistrate (First Class) (special judge for MP/MLA court) Amol S Shinde, alleging that complainant Satyaki Savarkar "managed to secure the order issuance of summons" in 2023 not on the basis of sound evidence, but by "deploying undue pressure" and creating an "atmosphere of haste and urgency" before the court.
Advocate Sangram Kolhatkar, representing Satyaki, V D Savarkar's grand nephew, objected to the application.
"The accused has raised serious doubts on the functioning of the Court. The Predecessor of this court, after analyzing all the evidence, had issued a summons against the accused," he said.
Judge Shinde concurred that Gandhi's application raised doubts about the functioning of the court.
If the Congress leader has any grievance against the issuance of summons, he should challenge it before the appropriate court, the magistrate said.
"But, he cannot make any comment on the order which he did not challenge. Either he has to accept the order or he has to challenge the order before the appropriate court. Therefore, this court directs that the accused shall not make any comment on any order which has become final or unchallenged," the judge said.
In his defamation complaint, Satyaki Savarkar has alleged that in a speech made in London in March 2023, Rahul Gandhi claimed that V D Savarkar had written in a book that he and five to six of his friends once beat up a Muslim man, and he (Savarkar) felt happy. No such incident had ever happened, and Savarkar never wrote this, the complaint stated.
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