Bombay High Court grants relief to Rahul Gandhi in RSS Defamation case

The Bombay High Court on Friday quashed a Bhiwandi court order allowing certain additional documents as evidence in the criminal defamation case filed against Rahul Gandhi by a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker. [Rahul Gandhi v State of Maharashtra and Anr.].Justice Prithviraj K Chavan passed the order in a plea filed by Gandhi alleging that the trial court allowed RSS functionary Rajesh Kunte to “belatedly” produce certain documents.A Bhiwandi Magistrate Court in Thane had on June 3 taken on record certain documents submitted by Kunte who is the complainant in the case against Gandhi.The Magistrate Court had allowed as evidence the transcript of the alleged defamatory speech based on which the defamation case was filed.Gandhi challenged this before the High Court on the ground that the Magistrate's order was in violation of an order of a single judge of the High Court in another petition filed by Kunte which concerned the same defamation complaint..In 2021, single-judge Justice Revati Mohite Dere had dismissed a petition filed by Kunte seeking admission or denial of the alleged defamatory speech made by Gandhi. Justice Dere had reasoned that an accused person could not be compelled to admit or deny annexures to the said petition..Gandhi claimed in the present petition that despite the 2021 order of the High Court, the Magistrate proceeded to take on record the same documents which would compel Gandhi to either admit or deny the documents.The case arose in 2014 when Kunte accused Gandhi of making defamatory statements in a speech stating alleging that the Hindu organisation RSS was responsible for the assassination of the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi..Kunte filed a complaint before the Bhiwandi magistrate in 2014. The Magistrate took cognizance of the complaint and summoned Gandhi for an appearance before the court. This was challenged by Gandhi in High Court in 2014. He sought quashing of the criminal proceedings. In this petition, Gandhi annexed a transcript of the allegedly defamatory speech.Even though Gandhi's petition was dismissed by the High Court, Kunte contended before the magistrate that by annexing a copy of his speech in the petition, Gandhi unambiguously owned up to the speech.The Magistrate Court, however, rejected this application which Kunte challenged before the High Court.The High Court dismissed this petition in 2021 opining that merely because a document of Kunte was annexed to Gandhi’s petition, it would not make such a document a `public document’ thus giving a complete go-by to the Kunte from proving the same in accordance with law.On June 3, 2023, during Kunte’s examination by the court, the Magistrate took on record the same 2014 writ petition including the annexures despite vehement opposition by Rahul Gandhi, prompting him to move the High Court..[Read Order]