Now Reading: Supreme Court quashes case against Rahul Gandhi over Savarkar
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Supreme Court quashes case against Rahul Gandhi over Savarkar
The Supreme Court on Friday quashed the criminal defamation complaint and summons against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his 2022 remarks describing Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar as a British collaborator. Justices…
The Story in Brief
The Supreme Court on Friday quashed the criminal defamation complaint and summons against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his 2022 remarks describing Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar as a British collaborator. Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu noted that the Uttar Pradesh government's affidavit did not disclose the required sanction under law to prosecute Gandhi, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
The case stems from comments Gandhi made during his Bharat Jodo Yatra in Akola, Maharashtra, on November 17, 2022. Advocate Nripendra Pandey filed a complaint accusing Gandhi of promoting enmity (Section 153A) and public mischief (Section 505 IPC). A Lucknow magistrate had summoned Gandhi in December 2024, and the Allahabad High Court refused to intervene in April 2025. The Supreme Court earlier stayed the summons but called Gandhi's remarks "irresponsible."
The Indian Opinion
The verdict is a legal win for Gandhi but leaves the political debate untouched. Many will portray this as a clean chit, but the court quashed the case solely on a procedural missing sanction, not on the truth of his remark about Savarkar. The earlier Supreme Court bench had already called Gandhi's statements irresponsible and warned him against repeating them. The key test now is whether any state government grants the required sanction to prosecute, or whether Gandhi, emboldened, repeats the claim and forces a substantive hearing.
Sources (4): siasat.com, rediff.com, barandbench.com, english.mathrubhumi.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 4 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 4 sources.
