A special court in Pune has granted bail to Congress leader and MP Rahul Gandhi in a criminal defamation case filed against him for making derogatory remarks against freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.
The MP/MLA court presided by Judge Amol Shinde on Friday granted bail to Gandhi on a surety bond of Rs 25,000.
The Congress leader attended the proceedings online through video-conferencing.
Satyaki Savarkar, grand-nephew of the freedom fighter, had filed a criminal defamation case against Gandhi over his remarks against Savarkar.
During a speech in London in March 2023, Gandhi allegedly referred to Savarkar’s memoirs about an incident, wherein he and others had assaulted a Muslim man. The freedom fighter reportedly called the situation “pleasurable.”
Satyaki refuted Gandhi’s claim in his complaint, stating that no such incident was mentioned in Savarkar’s writings. He sought maximum penalty for Gandhi under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for criminal defamation, along with the highest compensation under Section 357 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).
The Counsel appearing for Gandhi, Advocate Milind Pawar, saud that senior Congress leader Mohan Joshi stood as surety for Gandhi.
The Pune court further granted permanent exemption to Gandhi from appearing in future hearings, he added.
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