Rahul Gandhi appeared before a Bhiwandi magistrate’s court in Thane to submit a new surety in a defamation case filed by an RSS activist.
The case was filed by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh activist Rajesh Kunte over Gandhi’s 2014 remark linking the Sangh to Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination.
Gandhi will present Maharashtra Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal as surety; next hearing set for February 21.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday reached a magistrate's court in Maharashtra's Thane district to furnish a new surety in the defamation case filed against him by an RSS activist.
Since Shivraj Patil, the former Union Home Minister who had served as Gandhi's surety or guarantor, passed away in December of last year, the Bhiwandi magistrate's court had requested that Gandhi provide a new surety in the case.
Harshwardhan Sapkal, the head of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee, would be introduced by him as the case's new surety.
The judge specifically instructed Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, to be present in person to complete the formalities related to the new surety, his lawyer had earlier said.
Rajesh Kunte, an activist for the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, filed a lawsuit in court, claiming that the Congress politician said the Sangh was responsible for Mahatma Gandhi's murder when he spoke at a rally in Sonale village during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
According to Kunte's complaint filed under section 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code, the false statement damaged the reputation of the RSS.
The trial has concluded Kunte's cross-examination and re-examination.
Because a new assurance was required, the next hearing, which was originally set for December 20, 2025, was moved to January 17. The magistrate further postponed the case to February 21 on January 17.
