Congress leader Rahul Gandhi faces charges under Section 153A (promoting enmity) and 505 (public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). File
| Photo Credit: PTI
The Supreme Court decided to stay a summons issued to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in his appeal against the Allahabad High Court decision declining to quash a summons against him in the V.D. Savarkar defamation case.
He was summoned by a Magistrate on the basis of a complaint that he made derogatory remarks against the Hindutva ideologue during his Bharat Jodo Yatra in Maharashtra.
A Bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Manmohan, however, gave a stern warning to Mr. Gandhi, represented by senior advocate A.M. Singhvi and advocate Prasanna S., not to indulge in making such “statements against our freedom fighters who gave us our freedom”.
Justice Datta said that next time he made such remarks, the apex court would suo motu take cognisance and not wait for sanction to initiate proceedings against him. “This is not the way to treat our freedom fighters. They have given us freedom,” Justice Datta said.
The judge asked what prompted Mr. Gandhi to make these statements in a part of Maharashtra where Savarkar is “considered a God”.
His statements would prompt other to make similar remarks against other freedom fighters. “Tomorrow, somebody will say Mahatma Gandhi was a servant of the British,” Justice Datta remarked.
The trial court, while summoning Mr. Gandhi, had observed that he had spread hatred and ill-will in society through his speech in which he had said that Savarkar was a servant of the British and that he took a pension from the British.
He faces charges under Section 153A (promoting enmity) and 505 (public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The trial court also imposed a cost of ₹200 on the Congress leader for non-appearance in the case last month.
The court issued notice to the State of Uttar Pradesh and the complainant, Nripendra Pandey, a Lucknow resident.
The court listed the case after eight weeks.
Published – April 25, 2025 12:38 pm IST
