Pune: A special court in the city on Monday directed Congress politician Rahul Gandhi to appear in person before the court on Dec 2 in a defamation case filed by Satyaki Savarkar, the great-grandnephew of Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.
Satyaki filed the case last year over Gandhi’s alleged objectionable remarks made against the Hindutva ideologue during his speech in London in March 2023.
The court had earlier directed Gandhi to appear in the matter on Nov 18. However, his lawyer, Milind Pawar, filed a plea seeking an exemption from appearance since Gandhi was preoccupied with elections in various states, including Maharashtra and Jharkhand. The court granted the plea, but sought his appearance on the next date ie Dec 2.
Quoting instructions given by Gandhi’s office, Pawar also filed an appearance pursis (information to court) authorising him to represent the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition and to file a vakalatnama at a later stage.
Savarkar’s lawyer, Sangram Kolhatkar, filed an application and sought that the court issue a bailable warrant to secure Gandhi’s presence on the grounds that the latter did not appear before the court when the matter was listed for hearing earlier.
Kolhatkar furnished a postal receipt and tracking record of the postal service to show Gandhi received summons at his residence in New Delhi. The lawyer claimed the politician had knowledge of the summons and was previously convicted in a similar defamation case.
The court did not pass an order on Kolhatkar’s application to issue a bailable warrant and said an opportunity needs to be given to Gandhi to remain present.
In Sept, the case was transferred from a judicial magistrate first class (JMFC) court to a special court for MPs and MLAs, presided over by a joint civil judge and JMFC.
Courtesy : TOI
Note: This news is originally published in timesofindia.com and was used solely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes exclusively for Human Rights
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