HC quashes magistrate order allowing fresh documents against Rahul Gandhi in defamation case
Mumbai (PTI): In a relief to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the Bombay High Court on Friday quashed a magistrate's order permitting an RSS worker to submit fresh and additional documents in a pending criminal defamation complaint.
RSS worker Rajesh Kunte had in 2014 lodged a defamation complaint before the Bhiwandi magistrate's court, claiming the Congress leader had made false and defamatory statements during a speech that the right-wing outfit was responsible for the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.
In 2023, the magistrate court in Bhiwandi in Thane district permitted Kunte to submit the transcript of Gandhi's speech, which was part of a petition the Congress leader had filed in 2014 seeking the quashing of summons issued to him.
Kunte contended that by including the transcript as part of his petition, Gandhi had "unambiguously owned up to the speech and its contents".
Gandhi challenged the magistrate's order before the high court.
On Friday, a single bench of Justice Prithviraj Chavan allowed Gandhi's petition.
"The petition is allowed. Impugned order and consequent exhibition of documents are quashed and set aside. The magistrate court is directed to proceed with the trial regarding the exhibit in accordance with the observations made in the order," the court said.
Justice Chavan also directed the magistrate to deal with the trial expeditiously and asked both parties to cooperate.
The documents submitted by Kunte include parts of a petition filed by Gandhi in 2014, challenging the summons issued to him by the Bhiwandi court then.
It includes a copy of the transcript of the alleged speech made by Gandhi from a CD containing the purported live telecast of the programme, which was annexed as an exhibit to the petition.
Gandhi, in his plea, claimed that in 2021, another bench of the high court had disallowed Kunte from submitting any fresh documents in the case.
However, despite this, the magistrate permitted the submission of the documents as part of the complaint.
The Congress leader claimed that the magistrate's order allowing Kunte to submit fresh documents at this stage was "completely illegal and prejudicial".
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Karnataka Lokayukta to register case, probe Bowring wall collapse
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Lokayukta Justice B S Patil on Thursday took serious note of the compound wall collapse at Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital in the city that killed seven people, and announced registration of a case on its own while warning of action against officials found responsible.
The Lokayukta, who visited the site and conducted an inspection, expressed strong displeasure over the incident and questioned the inaction of authorities, even as police and emergency teams had earlier rushed to the spot to rescue victims trapped under the debris following heavy rain, strong winds and a hailstorm on Wednesday evening.
“I will now register a suo motu case. This is not just about this one incident — such incidents must not occur anywhere in the state or the city in the future,” Justice Patil told reporters.
Seven people, including a six-year-old girl, were killed and seven others injured when the compound wall collapsed as rain-battered victims had taken shelter near it, according to police. The victims included people from Kerala who were in the city on a study tour.
Calling for systemic accountability, the Lokayukta said, “Dilapidated buildings and weakened compound walls, especially in areas with public access, must first be identified. They must either be repaired, demolished, or rebuilt.”
He added that responsibility would be fixed on officials of the BBMP and the concerned departments.
Justice Patil said that hearings would be conducted and preventive action initiated, while also probing those responsible for it, how the incident could have been prevented, and why it was not prevented.
A Scene of Crime Officers (SOCO) team and a Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team also inspected the site, while police cordoned off Kovil Street to facilitate the probe.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said the government had initiated measures following the rain-related incidents and stressed preparedness.
“Since last night we have initiated measures regarding the rains. When it rains heavily, we must be prepared, and we are working towards that,” he told reporters here.
On the wall collapse, Shivakumar said, “I will not directly blame any officials. It was an old wall, and trees had grown alongside it. Due to that pressure, it collapsed.”
The Deputy CM said instructions had been issued to identify such vulnerable structures and clear areas around them, including relocating street vendors.
Karnataka Medical Education Minister Sharan Prakash Patil said a technical assessment had been ordered.
“This is a very serious matter. Innocent people have been affected. We are issuing directions to the engineers to find out why this compound wall collapsed and to assess its structural strength,” he told reporters after inspecting the spot.
The Minister noted that the wall was ‘very old’ and required thorough examination to prevent recurrence.
Speaking to reporters, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge asked the Karnataka government to take precautions to ensure that incidents like the collapse of the Bengaluru government hospital compound wall, which caused loss of life, should not repeat.
Meanwhile, addressing a press conference, Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad said the collapse raised questions about construction and maintenance practices.
“If a wall collapses within 25 years of its construction, it needs to be examined -- whether there was any technical issue, or if anything was altered inside, weakening it. All this can only come out through a technical investigation,” he said.
The Congress MLA also called for wider structural audits across the city, stating that all such structures, whether private or government, must be audited.
He urged citizens to support victims, saying it was a collective responsibility in times of crisis.
