Savarkar Defamation Case | Allahabad High Court Refuses To Quash Summoning Order Against Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi
The Allahabad High Court today refused relief to Leader of Opposition, Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi in VD Savarkar Defamation Case pending before an Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court in Lucknow. Gandhi moved the HC, challenging an order of the court summoning him as an accused in December of last year. In his plea, Gandhi had also challenged an order of the Sessions Court...
The Allahabad High Court today refused relief to Leader of Opposition, Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi in VD Savarkar Defamation Case pending before an Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court in Lucknow.
Gandhi moved the HC, challenging an order of the court summoning him as an accused in December of last year.
In his plea, Gandhi had also challenged an order of the Sessions Court that allowed a revision plea filed by the complainant, Advocate Nripendra Pandey, against the dismissal of his complaint in June 2023.
Hearing the matter today, a bench of Justice Subhash Vidyarthi orally remarked that a remedy is available to Gandhi to move before the Sessions Judge under Section 397 CrPC (Section 438 BNSS). In view of this, the Court disposed of his petition.
#JustIN | #AllahabadHighCourt today refused relief to Leader of Opposition, Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) in VD Savarkar Defamation Case pending before a court in #Lucknow.Gandhi had moved the HC challenging the summoning order. pic.twitter.com/XY3KVpisva— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) April 4, 2025
As stated, Gandhi was summoned by the Court as an accsued in December last year finding that Gandhi had spread hatred and ill will in society through his speech and by disturbing pamphlets before the speech at a press conference, wherein he allegedly said that Savarkar was a servant of the British and that he took a pension from the British.
"Distributing previously printed pamphlets and leaflets at press conferences demonstrates that Rahul Gandhi had weakened and insulted the basic characteristics of the nation by spreading hatred and enmity in the society", Addl. Civil Judge (Sr.Div.)/ACJM, Lucknow, Alok Verma had said in his order passed in December.
The order was passed on a complaint case filed by Advocate Pandey claiming that Gandhi, with the intention of spreading hatred in the society called the nationalist Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, a servant of the British, adding that he took a pension from the British.
"Kantiveer Damodar, the great leader of the nationalist ideology, was a fearless freedom fighter in the history of independence, who endured the inhuman atrocities of the British to free Mother India from their slavery, and Gandhi insulted Savarkar ji using indecent words and made hateful utterances to spread inferiority complex towards Savarkar ji...," the plea stated.
Appearances
Counsel for Applicant: Pranshu Agrawal,Mohammed Samar Ansari,Mohd. Yasir Abbasi
Counsel for opposite party : Shishir Chandra
Case title - Rahul Gandhi vs. State of UP Thru. Secy. Home Lko. And another 2025 LiveLaw (AB) 113
Case citation: 2025 LiveLaw (AB) 113