The Supreme Court has quashed the criminal defamation proceedings against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi linked to his remarks made at a public meeting in Maharashtra in 2022.
During the speech, Gandhi criticised late freedom fighter and Hindu Mahasabha leader V.D. Savarkar, alleging that Savarkar wrote apology letters to the British and received a pension while acting in their service.
Following the remarks, Lucknow-based advocate Nripendra Pandey filed a criminal defamation complaint in a magistrate court in Lucknow. The magistrate ordered registration of the case and issued summons to Gandhi.
Gandhi challenged the order in the Allahabad High Court, but his petition was dismissed. He then approached the Supreme Court, which had earlier granted an interim stay on the proceedings.
When the matter came up again on Thursday, the Supreme Court noted that the legally required prior sanction from the state government to continue the criminal proceedings had not been obtained. On that ground, it set aside the summons and fully quashed the defamation case against Gandhi.
