Nashik court grants bail to Rahul Gandhi in defamation case over remarks about Savarkar
Mumbai, Jul 24 (PTI): A court in Maharashtra's Nashik city on Thursday granted bail to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case filed against him for remarks about Hindutva ideologue and freedom fighter V D Savarkar during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in 2022.
Appearing through video link before additional chief judicial magistrate R C Narwadia, Gandhi, the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, pleaded `not guilty'.
Nashik-resident Devendra Bhutada, through his lawyer Manoj Pingle, has filed the criminal defamation case under sections 500 (defamation) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of the Indian Penal Code.
After Gandhi pleaded not guilty, his lawyers sought bail.
The court allowed the plea on a bond of Rs 15,000, said advocate Pingle.
The complainant, director of an NGO, alleged that Gandhi, at a press conference in Hingoli and in a speech during his yatra in November 2022, made statements that harmed Savarkar's reputation.
"The speech of the accused along with press statements try to ruin the reputation of the complainant's idol Swatantryaveer Savarkar and his contribution to the society along with his noble work in the pre-independence period," the complaint said.
Gandhi said that "Savarkar prayed for release with folded hands and later on promised to work for the British government", it alleged.
Gandhi is also facing a defamation case in Pune, filed by Savarkar's grandnephew, over his statements about the late Hindutva ideologue.
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Niqab incident: Nitish Kumar perhaps revealing his true colours, says J-K CM
Srinagar (PTI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday criticised his Bihar counterpart over the niqab incident and said that Nitish Kumar might be slowly revealing his true nature.
"Nitish Kumar, who was once considered a secular leader, may be slowly showing his true colours," Abdullah told reporters here on the sidelines of a function.
Abdullah said Kumar removing the face veil of a Muslim woman doctor was wrong and cannot be justified by any means.
"We have seen this kind of incident here several years ago. Have you forgotten how Mehbooba Mufti removed the burqa of a legitimate voter inside a polling station? That act was wrong, and this act (of Kumar) is also wrong.
"If the (Bihar) chief minister did not want to hand over the order to her (Muslim woman), they could have kept her aside. However, to humiliate her like this is totally wrong," the Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said.
Kumar stirred a huge controversy after he removed the face veil of a Muslim woman at a function earlier this week.
