Court Rejects Intervention Plea In Gandhi Savarkar Defamation Case

Pune: A Pune court on Friday rejected professor Pankaj K Phadnis’s application to intervene in the private criminal defamation case filed by Satyaki Savarkar against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over alleged remarks concerning freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.

Judicial Magistrate First Class Amol Shriram Shinde held that Phadnis had no legal right or locus standi to participate in the proceedings and directed him to pay ₹20,000 in costs to the District Legal Services Authority, Pune.

In its August 14 order, the court noted that the complainant’s cross-examination was already underway and that the intervention plea had consumed valuable judicial time.

Phadnis had sought to intervene citing more than 25 years of research on Savarkar, three books and historical documents that he said could assist the court. Both Satyaki Savarkar and Rahul Gandhi opposed the plea, arguing that Phadnis was neither the complainant nor the accused and had no legally recognised interest in the case.

The court examined Section 302 and Section 199 of the CrPC and held that Phadnis was not an “aggrieved person”. It also noted that he was neither a member of Savarkar’s family nor his near relative, and therefore could not claim standing in a defamation case concerning a deceased person.

The court clarified that the proceedings are concerned with the legal and evidentiary issues arising from the alleged defamatory statements, and are not meant to determine broader historical or political questions concerning Savarkar.

The intervention application was accordingly rejected with ₹20,000 costs, with the amount to be deposited with the District Legal Services Authority, Pune, before the next date.