Supreme Court, Rahul Gandhi
Supreme Court Quashes Defamation Complaint Against Rahul Gandhi Over Savarkar Remarks
|The court has set aside the Lucknow court’s summons after noting the absence of sanction in the proceedings.
The Supreme Court has quashed the criminal defamation complaint and summons issued by a Lucknow court against the Leader of the Opposition and Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi for his remarks against V. D. Savarkar.
The defamation case arises from Gandhi’s statements made during the Bharat Jodo Yatra on November 17, 2022, at a rally held in Maharashtra’s Akola district.
The Bench of Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Sheel Nagu ordered, "Leave granted. In the affidavit filed by the State of UP, there is no disclosure of sanction having been granted. in such view, the complainant and the orders passed by the Learned Magistrate stand quashed."
Senior Advocate Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi appeared for Rahul Gandhi, while Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj appeared for the State.
Previously, the Court issued notice on a plea filed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi challenging an Allahabad High Court order that refused to quash the summons issued to him in a criminal defamation case related to his remarks on Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.
The Court had pulled up Gandhi for his comments made during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Maharashtra's Akola district on November 17, 2022, and remarked, “This is not the way you treat our freedom fighters when you know nothing about the history and geography of India.”
On April 4, the Lucknow bench of the High Court observed that Gandhi could seek remedy by filing a revision petition before the sessions court, thereby rendering the High Court's intervention premature.
Gandhi, who currently serves as the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, has approached the top court against the lower court’s decision summoning him and the subsequent legal proceedings initiated thereafter.
The original complaint was lodged by Advocate Nripendra Pandey, who alleged that Gandhi had deliberately made offensive remarks against Savarkar during the event.
Cause Title: Rahul Gandhi v. State of U.P. & Anr. [SLP(Crl) No. 6196/2025]