On Friday, a special court in Pune granted Congress MP Rahul Gandhi bail in a criminal defamation case filed by Satyaki Savarkar, the grand-nephew of Hindutva icon Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. The case is rooted in Gandhi’s comments during a speech in London in March 2023.
Judge Amol Shinde of the MP/MLA court allowed Gandhi’s bail on a surety bond of ₹25,000. The Congress leader appeared for the hearing via video conferencing, with senior Congress leader Mohan Joshi providing surety, as confirmed by Gandhi’s counsel, Milind Pawar. The court also granted Gandhi a permanent exemption from attending future hearings.
The case revolves around Gandhi’s alleged remarks about Savarkar’s writings, where he purportedly mentioned an incident involving the assault of a Muslim man, which Savarkar reportedly described as “pleasurable.” Satyaki Savarkar disputed these claims, asserting that no such incident is mentioned in Savarkar’s documented works.
In his complaint, Satyaki Savarkar has sought the maximum punishment for criminal defamation under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the highest compensation allowed under Section 357 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).
