Rahul Gandhi Granted Bail in Savarkar Defamation Case

• Rahul Gandhi was granted bail by a Nashik court in a defamation case.
• The case stems from his 2022 remarks about V.D. Savarkar during the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
• Appearing via video link, Gandhi pleaded “not guilty” to the charges.
• The court set bail at ₹15,000 in the case filed by Devendra Bhutada under IPC Sections 500 and 504.

GG News Bureau
Nashik, 24th July: A court in Nashik city on Thursday granted bail to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case. The case was filed against him for remarks he allegedly made about Hindutva ideologue and freedom fighter V.D. Savarkar during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in 2022.

Appearing via video link before Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate R.C. Narwadia, Rahul Gandhi, who is the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, pleaded “not guilty” to the charges.

Nashik resident Devendra Bhutada, through his lawyer Manoj Pingle, had filed the criminal defamation case under Sections 500 (defamation) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of the Indian Penal Code. Following Gandhi’s plea of not guilty, his legal team sought bail. The court approved the bail application on a bond of ₹15,000, advocate Pingle confirmed.

The complainant, who is also the director of an NGO, alleged that Gandhi’s statements at a press conference in Hingoli and during a speech in November 2022, both part of his yatra, harmed Savarkar’s reputation. The complaint specifically cited Gandhi’s alleged statement that “Savarkar prayed for release with folded hands and later on promised to work for the British government.” It further claimed that Gandhi’s remarks aimed to “ruin the reputation of the complainant’s idol Swatantryaveer Savarkar and his contribution to the society along with his noble work in the pre-independence period.”

Rahul Gandhi is also currently facing a separate defamation case in Pune, which was filed by Savarkar’s grandnephew concerning similar statements about the late Hindutva ideologue.