The Supreme Court on Friday quashed a private criminal complaint and a magistrate’s summons pending against Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, over his November 2022 remarks regarding Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.
A bench comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu ruled that the proceedings could not continue because the mandatory statutory sanction required to prosecute the case had not been obtained.
Key Details of the Ruling
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Reason for Quashing: The top court observed that an affidavit filed by the State of Uttar Pradesh revealed no sanction was granted under the law to prosecute the matter. Consequently, the bench set aside both the criminal complaint and the lower court’s summoning orders.
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Charges Dropped: The complaint had charged Gandhi under Sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
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The Original Complaint: The case stemmed from a private complaint filed by advocate Nripendra Pandey regarding statements Gandhi made on November 17, 2022, during his Bharat Jodo Yatra, where he referred to Savarkar as a collaborator who accepted a pension from the British.
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Procedural History: After an UP magistrate issued a summons based on the complaint, Gandhi approached the Supreme Court seeking to have the summons and the underlying case quashed.
