1 week Ago
1 2 3 Pune: The hearing to record leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi's plea in the criminal defamation case filed by Satyaki Savarkar was deferred to May 9 by a special magisterial court on Friday. Satyaki is Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar 's great-grandnephew. The case concerns alleged objectionable remarks made by the Congress leader in his March 2023 speech in London.
Gandhi's lawyer Milind Pawar received documents and a pendrive containing video and transcripts of the speech as also newspaper clippings through Satyaki's counsel Sangram Kolhatkar. Pawar filed a plea thereafter. Under provisions of section 294 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the plea sought time for the study of contents and verification of the information provided.
Magistrate Amol Shinde deferred the hearing. The plea requested the court direct Satyaki to supply a copy of Savarkar's book on Hindutva and enable the defence to prepare for the trial. Pawar told TOI that the book is required for the purpose of recording evidence in the summons trial, because the case is based on documentary evidence of historical importance.
Satyaki's lawyer Kolhatkar requested the court to expedite the process of recording Gandhi's plea to commence the trial on the next date of hearing. On Jan 10, the court had granted bail to Gandhi in the said case after he appeared through video conferencing. On Feb 18, the court permanently exempted Gandhi from attending day-to-day hearings of the defamation case.
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