Savarkar's grandson files defamation suit against Rahul over London address

Late Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar's grandson on Wednesday approached a court here in Maharashtra with a criminal defamation complaint against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accusing him of making false allegations against Savarkar during his address in London.

The grandson, Satyaki Savarkar, said his lawyers have moved the city court with a complaint under sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code.

"Since the concerned court officer was absent today, they asked us to come again on Saturday to get the number of the case. We have not received the case number yet and we will receive it on Saturday," Satyaki Savarkar told PTI.

Speaking about the content of the complaint, Satyaki Savarkar said Rahul Gandhi during his interaction with the Indian diaspora in London had raised Savarkar's topic.

"Rahul Gandhi told the gathering that VD Savarkar had written a book in which the latter stated that he and his five to six friends were beating a Muslim man and he (Savarkar) felt happy.

"Rahul Gandhi, while speaking about this incident, asked if it was not a cowardly act. First of all, this incident, as narrated by Gandhi, is a fictional one. No such incident had taken place in the life of Savarkar who was a man of scientific temperament. He believed in democracy and had advised Muslims to adopt a scientific approach," Satyaki Savarkar said.

He added that Rahul Gandhi's statement about VD Savarkar was false, malicious, and aimed at insulting him.

"After this attempt to defame Savarkar, we decided not to sit silent and approached the court with a criminal defamation case under sections 499 and 500 of IPC against Rahul Gandhi.

"VD Savarkar had not written such things in any book, so let this thing come up in the court as to in which book Rahul Gandhi read this incident," Satyaki Savarkar said.

He claimed a video of Rahul Gandhi making these statements during the interaction is available and will be submitted in court.

Advocate Anirudh Ganu, one of the two layers representing Satyaki Savarkar, said, "Since the court officer (assistant registrar) was not there in the court, they told us to come on Saturday and the case number will be issued".

A metropolitan court in Surat on March 23 convicted Rahul Gandhi of criminal defamation for his 2019 remark, "How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?", and sentenced him to two years in jail, leading to his disqualification as a Lok Sabha member.

Subsequently, Rahul Gandhi moved the sessions court which granted him bail on April 3 and kept the hearing on his plea for a stay of conviction on April 13.