The Supreme Court’s efforts to broker peace between Congress party vice-president Rahul Gandhi and ruling BJP party's patent body Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) fizzled out on Thursday when the Amethi MP refused the organisation’s demand for a statement that RSS has no role to play in Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination and opted to face trial for criminal defamation for his 2014 Bhiwandi election speech.
Mr. Gandhi stood firm by his stand that he never blamed the RSS as an institution but only certain people associated with it for the assassination.
“I have always said that. I will say it now. I will always say that. Let this case go to trial,” senior advocate Kapil Sibal, Mr. Gandhi's counsel, addressed the apex court Bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Rohinto Nariman.
Mr. Gandhi withdrew his petition in the Supreme Court to quash the criminal defamation complaint and summons issued against him.
“We are not inclined to interfere now. Let the trial Magistrate proceed according to law,” the Supreme Court bowed out of the litigation. The court refused to grant Mr. Gandhi exemption from appearance in the trial.
RSS counsel and senior advocate U.R. Lalit refused to take at “face value” Mr. Gandhi’s stand that his speech had not blamed RSS as an institution. “You have done it repeatedly. Wherever there was an election, wherever there are minority votes to be had, he (Rahul Gandhi) has maligned the RSS. In Assam, he said the same,” Mr. Lalit submitted.
Mr. Lalit was, in the previous hearing, asked by the Bench to take instructions from his client, RSS activist Rajesh Kunte, who had filed the criminal defamation complaint against Mr. Gandhi for his speech.
“Nobody is interested in Godse, the relevance (in Rahul Gandhi’s speeches) has always been the RSS,” Mr. Lalit submitted. Mr. Lalit had a written statement of what his client wanted Mr. Gandhi to state for the case to come to an end.
Senior advocate M.N. Krishnamani, who was co-counsel with Mr. Lalit, later after the hearing, said the written statement wanted Mr. Gandhi to acknowledge that RSS has no role to play in the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.
“I have said only what Nathuram Godse’s brother said. Nothing more,” Mr. Sibal said.
In the previous hearing, Mr. Gandhi reiterated his contentions before the Bombay High Court in 2014 that he had never accused the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as an “institution” for the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, but only persons associated with the organisation.
The Bench had also observed that “what we understand from the statement the accused (Mr. Gandhi) never blamed RSS as an institution that assassinated Mahatma Gandhi but the persons associated with it”. The court said this after reading from a December 15, 2014 affidavit submitted by Mr. Gandhi in the Bombay High Court in the same case.
“The assassination of Mahatma was a result of destructive philosophy of the persons associated with the RSS. It was also clearly suggested that the assassins were associated or affiliated with the RSS. He never accused RSS as an institution of the crime,” Mr. Gandhi, represented by senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Mahalakshmi Pavani, had quoted from the 2014 affidavit.
The 2014 affidavit had also explained the context of Mr. Gandhi's reference to Sardar Vallabhai Patel in the same speech. This bit had also come under scanner.
“The second part deals with the attempt of the Opposition to appropriate the legacy of Sardar Patel, an eminent leader of the Congress during the pre-independence and post-independence period. It is highlighted in the speech that Sardar Patel had written about RSS candidly and clearly. In other words, one gets the impression that Sardar Patel had been critical of the RSS,” Mr. Gandhi said in his affidavit.
The affidavit in 2014 had also said that “it is again proved beyond a shadow of doubt that RSS has been consistently pursuing a majoritarian agenda and attaches utmost importance to the propagation of its own self-proclaimed version of Hindu culture and its own self-proclaimed version of Hindu nationalism.”
Mr. Kunte had alleged in his complaint that Mr. Gandhi's comments in his speech amounted to “imputations against the RSS and its people with mala Fide motive to harm the reputation of RSS, its followers, people, swayamsevaks.”
Mr. Gandhi stood firm by his stand that he never blamed the RSS as an institution but only certain people associated with it for the assassination.
“I have always said that. I will say it now. I will always say that. Let this case go to trial,” senior advocate Kapil Sibal, Mr. Gandhi's counsel, addressed the apex court Bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Rohinto Nariman.
Mr. Gandhi withdrew his petition in the Supreme Court to quash the criminal defamation complaint and summons issued against him.
“We are not inclined to interfere now. Let the trial Magistrate proceed according to law,” the Supreme Court bowed out of the litigation. The court refused to grant Mr. Gandhi exemption from appearance in the trial.
RSS counsel and senior advocate U.R. Lalit refused to take at “face value” Mr. Gandhi’s stand that his speech had not blamed RSS as an institution. “You have done it repeatedly. Wherever there was an election, wherever there are minority votes to be had, he (Rahul Gandhi) has maligned the RSS. In Assam, he said the same,” Mr. Lalit submitted.
Mr. Lalit was, in the previous hearing, asked by the Bench to take instructions from his client, RSS activist Rajesh Kunte, who had filed the criminal defamation complaint against Mr. Gandhi for his speech.
“Nobody is interested in Godse, the relevance (in Rahul Gandhi’s speeches) has always been the RSS,” Mr. Lalit submitted. Mr. Lalit had a written statement of what his client wanted Mr. Gandhi to state for the case to come to an end.
Senior advocate M.N. Krishnamani, who was co-counsel with Mr. Lalit, later after the hearing, said the written statement wanted Mr. Gandhi to acknowledge that RSS has no role to play in the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.
“I have said only what Nathuram Godse’s brother said. Nothing more,” Mr. Sibal said.
In the previous hearing, Mr. Gandhi reiterated his contentions before the Bombay High Court in 2014 that he had never accused the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as an “institution” for the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, but only persons associated with the organisation.
The Bench had also observed that “what we understand from the statement the accused (Mr. Gandhi) never blamed RSS as an institution that assassinated Mahatma Gandhi but the persons associated with it”. The court said this after reading from a December 15, 2014 affidavit submitted by Mr. Gandhi in the Bombay High Court in the same case.
“The assassination of Mahatma was a result of destructive philosophy of the persons associated with the RSS. It was also clearly suggested that the assassins were associated or affiliated with the RSS. He never accused RSS as an institution of the crime,” Mr. Gandhi, represented by senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Mahalakshmi Pavani, had quoted from the 2014 affidavit.
The 2014 affidavit had also explained the context of Mr. Gandhi's reference to Sardar Vallabhai Patel in the same speech. This bit had also come under scanner.
“The second part deals with the attempt of the Opposition to appropriate the legacy of Sardar Patel, an eminent leader of the Congress during the pre-independence and post-independence period. It is highlighted in the speech that Sardar Patel had written about RSS candidly and clearly. In other words, one gets the impression that Sardar Patel had been critical of the RSS,” Mr. Gandhi said in his affidavit.
The affidavit in 2014 had also said that “it is again proved beyond a shadow of doubt that RSS has been consistently pursuing a majoritarian agenda and attaches utmost importance to the propagation of its own self-proclaimed version of Hindu culture and its own self-proclaimed version of Hindu nationalism.”
Mr. Kunte had alleged in his complaint that Mr. Gandhi's comments in his speech amounted to “imputations against the RSS and its people with mala Fide motive to harm the reputation of RSS, its followers, people, swayamsevaks.”