SC slams Rahul for remarks that RSS killed Mahatma Gandhi
Tuesday, 19 July 2016 (15:59 IST)
New Delhi:The Supreme Court today slammed Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi for his alleged remarks in which the senior leader had allegedly held the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) responsible for the assassination of Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi, and it also hinted that he might have to face the trial for criminal defamation.
Webdunia
Webdunia
A division bench, headed by Justice Dipak Misra, said it would be entirely up to Mr Gandhi to prove his innocence in the defamation case. The court admonished Mr Gandhi for making such "collective" remarks, and agreed to hear the detailed arguments on July 27. The Apex Court had in its last hearing offered Mr Gandhi an opportunity to express regret over the remarks and give the issue a "decent burial". But Mr Gandhi's lawyers had refused the proposal and opted to argue the case on merits in the apex court.
The Apex Court had also earlier asked the lawyer of the 45-year-old senior Congress leader to settle the criminal defamation case by regretting his alleged statement. The leader, however, did not agree to the suggestion of the division bench and had told the SC that he would fight the case in the court. Rajesh Kunte, an RSS activist, had filed the criminal defamation case against Mr Gandhi, who had allegedly accused the saffron wing of killing Mahatma Gandhi at a rally in the run-up to last year's Lok Sabha polls.
Kunte had further accused Rahul for illegally trying to tarnish the reputation of the Sangh parivaar through his illegal speech. Mr Gandhi had told an election rally at Sonale in the state of Maharashtra on March 6, 2014 that "RSS people killed Gandhiji," Mr Kunte alleged in his petition. On May 7 this year, the Apex Court had granted interim relief to Mr Gandhi and stayed the criminal proceedings against him.
The case was pending before a magisterial court in Bhiwandi in Thane district of Maharashtra. Mr Gandhi's lawyers had argued before the court that that complaint, filed by Mr Kunte, was motivated and malafide and deserved to be quashed. The prosecution had opposed the petition and argued that Mr Gandhi can plead his case and lead evidence during trial before the magistrate. The Congress leader, in his petition, had challenged the sections 499 and 500 (criminal defamation) of the Indian Penal.
