Justice Dipankar Datta questioned whether Rahul Gandhi was aware that his grandmother, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, had once written a letter praising Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. The judge emphasized, “Let us not make irresponsible statements about our freedom fighters.” While acknowledging Gandhi’s valid legal arguments, the bench firmly warned that any future remarks against freedom fighters would be taken up suo motu. “These are the people who gave us our freedom—this is not how we should treat them,” the bench stated. The Supreme Court also issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh government and complainant advocate Nripendra Pandey, while staying an Allahabad High Court order that had declined to quash the trial court’s summons against Rahul Gandhi.
Rahul Gandhi Moves Supreme Court Against Allahabad High Court Order on Savarkar Remarks Case
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the Allahabad High Court’s April 4 ruling, which declined to quash the summons issued by a Magistrate court. The summons, issued in December last year, was in response to Gandhi’s controversial remarks during a press conference, where he allegedly stated that freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was a “servant of the British” and received a pension from them.
The High Court had suggested that Gandhi could seek relief by approaching the Sessions Court under Section 397 of the CrPC, which allows for a review of lower court records. The case originated from a complaint filed by advocate Nripendra Pandey, who accused Gandhi of making statements intended to incite social discord by branding Savarkar as a British collaborator.