Cannot compel Rahul Gandhi to produce evidence against himself: Pune court in defamation case
Special Judge Amol Shinde of the MP/MLA court dismissed the plea filed by complainant Satyaki Savarkar, stating that Gandhi cannot be compelled to produce material that could be used as evidence against him, as it would violate his right against self-incrimination.
The complainant is VD Savarkar's grand-nephew.
The court agreed with the argument made by Gandhi's lawyer that since Satyaki Savarkar had filed a private complaint, the burden of proof lies with him to establish the allegations beyond reasonable doubt, Live Law reported.
'The accused cannot be compelled to disclose his defence before the commencement of the trial,' the court said.
Forcing Gandhi to provide the book at this stage would violate his right to a fair trial and his ability to mount an effective defence, the court held.
The application, filed by Satyaki Savarkar, claimed that the book Gandhi allegedly relied on to make the remarks was crucial and should be made available to the complainant. He claimed that the book cited by Gandhi simply did not exist, PTI reported.
He also noted that the court had earlier allowed Gandhi to access copies of two books – Majhi Janmathep and Hindutva – authored by Savarkar.
The case pertains to a complaint filed by Satyaki Savarkar in April 2023 against Gandhi, accusing him of making fictitious, false and malicious remarks about the Hindutva ideologue during an event in London in March 2023.
Satyaki Savarkar alleged that Gandhi had made the remarks 'fully knowing the said allegations to be untrue, with the specific objective of harming the reputation and to defame the surname Savarkar…'
As part of his complaint, Satyaki Savarkar submitted several news articles and a YouTube video of the London speech, Live Law reported.
Earlier in April, the court had allowed Gandhi's request to change the nature of the proceedings from a summary trial to a summons trial to allow for more detailed evidence and historical context to be presented.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
IAS coach faces legal action over ‘defamatory' remark against judiciary
Ajmer: The Judicial Magistrate Court No-2 here has taken cognisance against Vikas Divyakirti, founder and managing director of Drishti IAS coaching institute, for allegedly making defamatory remarks against the judiciary. The court presided over by Manmohan Chandel Tuesday charged Divyakirti under multiple subsections of Section 356 of the BNS Act 2023. Divyakirti has been directed to appear in person before the court on July 22. A petition filed in the court refers to controversial statements made by Divyakirti in a YouTube video titled "IAS versus Judge, who is powerful," where he allegedly made inappropriate comments about the process of becoming a high court or a Supreme Court judge. The complainant, advocate Kamlesh Manowliya, presented social media clips where Divyakirti discussed "jugaad" (informal arrangements) in relation to judicial appointments and the collegium system. The court was told that in the controversial video, Divyakirti allegedly claimed that files of potential judges could be delayed through govt red tape, even after collegium approval. He also allegedly made controversial comparisons between the powers of district judges and district magistrates, suggesting that judicial power is dependent on police cooperation. The complainant's legal team, including advocates Ashok Singh Rawat, Rajkumar Rawat and Rajesh Bhati, argued that such statements damage the judiciary's image.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Kangana ‘not taking her job seriously': Pratibha Singh
Shimla: Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) president Pratibha Singh on Tuesday said the BJP MP from Mandi, , was "not taking her work seriously" and looking at the use of her language, the people of the Mandi parliamentary constituency were "regretting" electing her. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now After paying homage to her husband and former chief minister Virbhadra Singh on his fourth death anniversary at the party's state headquarters, along with various Congress leaders and workers, Pratibha Singh told the mediapersons that Kangana should have immediately come to the help of the disaster-hit people of her constituency and shared their grief. The Congress state president, who was elected to the Lok Sabha thrice from Mandi, said the MPs get Rs 5 crore per year as the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Fund (MPLAD) and Kangana could very well use these funds to help the disaster-affected people of her constituency. She said Kangana should take up the issue of the monsoon disaster in Parliament and also meet the Prime Minister to urge him for help. During her visit to the disaster-affected areas of Mandi district, Kangana had said she neither had cabinet post nor funds for the disaster relief. But, she added that she would request the PM and help in getting funds from the central govt.
India Gazette
an hour ago
- India Gazette
"Election Commission works for BJP only": Congress' Chennithala vows to fight Bihar's SIR in court
New Delhi [India], July 8 (ANI): Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, on Tuesday, alleged that the Election Commission is in favour of and works for the BJP. Citing the example of Bihar, Chennithala claimed that two crore new voters have been added in the state before the Assembly polls. Speaking to ANI, the Congress leader emphasised that they will fight the issue in the court as it is very important to bring transparency to the election. 'Our leader, Rahul Gandhi, told everyone clearly how 75 lakh votes were added. Rahul Gandhi has put the evidence in front of the Election Commission of all the misdeeds the opposition party have committed to defeat the Maha Vikas Aghadi in Maharashtra. However, the election commission is in favour of the BJP and works for them only. There is a recent example of Bihar, where two crore new voters have been added... We will take this to court and fight against it. It is very important to bring transparency to the election,' Chennithala said. Since the announcement of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the opposition parties have raised their concerns. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Monday claimed that those who do not have any of the 11 documents asked for verification, their names will be 'removed' from the electoral roll list. Congress leader Randeep Surjewala asked whether it is 'democracy' of BJP's 'vote suppression mechanism'. AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi also warned that lakhs of people in Bihar could lose their citizenship and livelihoods if the Election Commission proceeds with its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls without adequate time and safeguards. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear on July 10 a batch of pleas challenging the Election Commission of India's (ECI) move to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar. A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi agreed to list the matter on Thursday and allowed the parties to give advance notice of the petitions to the Election Commission of India and serve copies of the petitions. Earlier, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar underlined the importance of carrying out a revision of the electoral rolls, saying that the poll panel has constantly held meetings with thousands of representatives of political parties, who had expressed dissatisfaction with the current state of the electoral rolls. 'During the past 4 months, all 4,123 EROs, all 775 DEOs and all 36 CEOs have held nearly 5,000 meetings with 28,000 political party representatives. ECI has also invited all Recognised political parties for interaction. No one was satisfied with the current status of electoral rolls for one reason or the other,' the CEC said. Bihar elections are expected to be held later this year in October or November; however, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has not yet announced the dates. While the NDA, consisting of the BJP, JD(U), and LJP, will once again be looking to continue their stint in Bihar, the INDIA bloc, consisting of the RJD, Congress, and left parties, will be looking to unseat Nitish Kumar. Prashant Kishore has presented his party, Jan Suraaj, as another alternative in the state. In the current Bihar Assembly of 243 members, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) consists of 131 with the BJP having 80 MLAs, JD(U)-45, HAM(S)-4, with the support of 2 Independent candidates. The Opposition's INDIA Bloc has a strength of 111 members with RJD leading with 77 MLAs, Congress-19, CPI(ML)-11, CPI(M)-2 and CPI-2. (ANI)
