Congress vice president and future prime ministerial candidate of the party, Rahul Gandhi is facing the defamation case for his derogatory remarks on RSS pertaining to the assignation of Gandhi. According to the sources, Rahul Gandhi had made a statement in public that “RSS killed Gandhi”. What stand Mr. Gandhi has taken in this case at present? Read the complete report here.
[su_expand more_text=”READ MORE” less_text=” ” height=”0″ hide_less=”yes” link_style=”button” link_align=”center”] According to the news published by English national daily Times of India, Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi to express regret for his comments holding the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) responsible for Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination or be ready to face a defamation trial.
“Why did you make a sweeping statement against the RSS branding everyone associated with the organization in the same brush,” the Supreme Court asked Rahul Gandhi while hearing a defamation case filed against him. “You can’t make a wholesale denunciation of an organization,” the SC bench observed.
Rahul Gandhi’s counsel tried to put across his point before the judge by justifying the statement of Rahul Gandhi saying that these are the historical facts supporting the statement and it is also the part of government records. Rahul is relying on one of the defenses available in the defamation case and bringing the same in front of the court that “statement had been made in a good faith and in the interest of public is not defamatory.”
The apex court had asked Mr. Gandhi to prove his defense as in what way his statement made against the RSS is in the public interest. The SC said that if Rahul Gandhi wanted to defend himself and was not ready to express his regret than it will be better that he faced trial.
A bench of Justices Dipak Misra and R F Nariman refused Rahul’s request for two-week adjournment and posted the matter for hearing on July 27. Rahul wanted two week’s time saying his counsel Kapil Sibal is not free before that. The SC said this is no ground for adjournment and posted the matter for July 27, saying no further postponement of hearing would be allowed.
Rahul Gandhi had moved the Supreme Court in May 2015 for quashing the criminal case lodged against him for his comments against the RSS during a Thane rally in March 2014. “RSS people killed Gandhiji and today their people (BJP) talk of him…They opposed Sardar Patel and Gandhiji,” Rahul had said while addressing a public rally in Thane district in March 2014.
The defamation case is used in our country as a weapon against the opponents. This case is one such example of the same. Today all the political parties keep throwing allegations towards each other but hardly anybody files the defamation cases against others. There is a need in of amendment in the law of defamation.
Source: TNN
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