Bombay High Court: Congress-leader Rahul Gandhi was relieved after 10 years in a defamation case filed against him by a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (“RSS”) worker Rajesh Kunte in 2014, alleging that during the then election campaign, Rahul Gandhi had made a defamatory remark in his speech, by blaming the RSS for the death of Mahatma Gandhi. The instant petition challenged the Magistrate Court’s order, and the single-Judge, Prithviraj K Chavan, J., quashed the same, granting Rahul Gandhi relief.
The case was brought before the Bhiwandi Magistrate Court (“Magistrate Court”), that summoned the Member of Parliament before it and permitted the RSS worker’s reliance on the disputed speech’s transcript.
In 2021, Kunte had filed another petition before the High Court, seeking the admission or denial of the alleged defamatory speech which was dismissed by theSingle-Judge Revati Mohite-Dere, J., holding that an accused could not be compelled to admit or deny annexures to their petition.
Source: Press