Supreme Court warns of suo moto action against Rahul Gandhi if he continues to make derogatory comments against freedom fighters like Veer Savarkar
On 24th April, the Supreme Court voiced its dissatisfaction over the comments made by Rahul Gandhi, the Congress leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, against Veer Savarkar. Justices Manmohan and Dipankar Datta were part of the bench that heard the case.
The Court even warned to take “suo moto” action against Rahul Gandhi if he made any more remarks that were critical of freedom fighters like Veer Savarkar, even while staying the criminal defamation proceedings that were still pending against him in a Lucknow court.
Justice Datta objected to Rahul Gandhi’s claim that Savarkar was a British servant as soon as the hearing commenced. He questioned whether Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi’s use of the phrase “your faithful servant” in his correspondence with the Viceroy qualified him as a servant of the empire as well.
“Does your client know Mahatma Gandhi also used ‘your faithful servant’ while addressing the Viceroy? Does your client know that his grandmother (Indira Gandhi), when she was the Prime Minister, also sent a letter praising the gentleman (Veer Savarkar), the freedom fighter,” the Judge questioned Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Congress veteran and senior advocate representing the Gandhi family scion.
“So therefore, let him not make irresponsible statements about the freedom fighters. You have laid down a good point of law and you are entitled to stay. We know that. But this is not the way you treat our freedom fighters. When you don’t know anything of the history or geography of India,” Justice Datta further chastised Rahul Gandhi and asked, “He is a person of stature. He is a leader of a political party. Why should you foment trouble like this? You go to Akola and make this statement, in Maharashtra, where he (Savarkar) is worshiped? Don’t do this. Why do you make this statement?”
The Bench further pointed out that even the Judges of the Calcutta High Court referred to the Chief Justice as “Your Servant” during the period of British rule and added, “Someone does not become a servant like this. Next time, somebody will say Mahatma Gandhi was the servant of the British. You are encouraging these kind of statements.”
The bench did, however, state that it was inclined to halt the proceedings, provided Rahul Gandhi promised not to make any more remarks of that nature. “We will grant you stay but we will restrain you from making irresponsible statements. Let’s be clear, any further statement and we will take suo moto action and no question of sanction. We will not allow you to speak anything about our freedom fighters. They have given us freedom, and this is how we treat them,” Justice Datta stated. Congress leader and Rahul Gandhi’s lawyer Singhvi verbally committed to refraining from making such claims.
“Issue notice. The impugned order is stayed,” the court declared. The Rae Bareli Lok Sabha MP Rahul Gandhi went to the apex court after the Allahabad High Court denied him relief. The summons issued to him by a Magistrate court for his remarks concerning Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was upheld by the high court.
In December of 2024, Rahul Gandhi was called to appear in court as a defendant regarding his remarks made during a press conference, in which he stated that Veer Savarkar was an agent of the British Raj and received a pension from them. A legal complaint was submitted by Advocate Nripendra Pandey, charging that the Congress leader aimed to incite hatred in the society through his comments. Rahul Gandhi was charged with violating Sections 505 (public mischief) and 153A (promoting enmity) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
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