RSS case: Clean chit for Rahul Gandhi

The Supreme Court on Wednesday accepted the submissions made on behalf of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi that he had only blamed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) people for killing Mahatma Gandhi, and not the RSS as an organisation.

A bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Rolhinton Nariman, while agreeing with senior counsel Kapil Sibal for the clarification, indicated its willingness to quash the criminal defamation case against Rahul for the remark if the complainant accepted the clarification.

The Congress vice-president, during an election speech in March 2014 at Bhiwandi in Maharashtra, is alleged to have said that “Gandhiji was shot dead by RSS people and their people talk of Gandhiji”. The comment led to a criminal complaint being filed by RSS activist Rajesh Kunte against Rahul and the case is still pending. Mr Kunte termed the comment “false, frivolous, baseless and wanton allegations, imputations against the RSS and its people with mala fide motive to harm the reputation of the RSS, its followers, people, swayamsevaks”.

The Bombay high court had in May 2015 dismissed Rahul’s plea for quashing the case, following which he had filed the special leave petition in the apex court.

It may be recalled that the court had pulled up Rahul Gandhi in July over “collective denunciation” of the RSS and said he may have to face trial for his comments that RSS killed Mahatma Gandhi.

During the resumed hearing, the bench asked senior counsel U.R Lalit, father of Justice Uday Lalit, appearing for the complainant Rajesh Kunte, as to why the case pending in a magistrate court in Bhiwandi in Thane district of Maharashtra should not be quashed in view of Mr Sibal’s submission.

Mr Sibal drew the attention of the bench that Rahul had filed an affidavit in the Bombay high court while seeking the quashing of the defamation complaint against him, stating that at an election rally he had not blamed the RSS as an institution for the assassination of Gandhiji, but a person associated with it.

The bench then said: “what we understand is that the accused never blamed RSS as an institution that killed Mahatma Gandhi but the person associated with it.”

Mr. Lalit said his client was willing to withdraw the case if Mr. Gandhi made the statement before this Bench. Mr. Sibal, however, said there was no need for this as Mr. Gandhi had already made the assertion in his petition in the Bombay High Court. The Bench, which posted the matter for September 1, asked the complainant’s counsel to seek instruction whether the complainant was ready to end the case if Mr. Gandhi’s statement is taken on record.