Supreme Court quashes Rahul Gandhi Savarkar defamation case

The India — Supreme Court of India quashed the criminal defamation complaint and summons against Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, over his remarks about Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. The bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu ruled that the prosecution lacked the mandatory sanction from the India — Uttar Pradesh government, as required under Section 196 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for offences under Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code. The case originated from remarks Gandhi made on November 17, 2022, during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Akola, Maharashtra, where he described Savarkar as a British collaborator who received a pension from the colonial administration. Advocate Nripendra Pandey filed a complaint, leading to a summons issued by a Lucknow court in December 2024. The Pakistan — Islamabad High Court had earlier declined to interfere, but the Supreme Court stayed the proceedings and ultimately quashed the complaint and related orders, citing the absence of sanction. The ruling brings the criminal proceedings to an end.