The Supreme Court has struck down a hate speech complaint against Congress MP Rahul Gandhi over his remarks on Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar, ruling that mandatory legal sanction for the prosecution had never been obtained.
A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu quashed both the underlying complaint and the magistrate's order that had followed from it, according to reports.
The court noted that the additional solicitor general, along with counsel for the complainant, conceded in an affidavit filed on behalf of Uttar Pradesh that no such sanction had been disclosed. "In such view of the matter, the complaint and orders passed by magistrate stands quashed," the bench observed.
The case stemmed from comments Gandhi made on November 17, 2022, during his Bharat Jodo Yatra, when he described Savarkar as having collaborated with British colonial authorities and claimed he had received a pension from them.
A criminal complaint was subsequently lodged by advocate Nripendra Pandey, accusing the Leader of the Opposition of promoting communal disharmony through his remarks. A magistrate in Uttar Pradesh went on to issue a summons against Gandhi in the matter.
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Gandhi had been booked under Sections 153A (promoting enmity between groups) and 505 (statements causing public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code, which was in force at the time the complaint was filed.
These offences now correspond to Sections 196 and 353 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which has since replaced the IPC.
Challenging the summons, Gandhi moved the Supreme Court seeking to have the criminal proceedings against him set aside. The apex court's ruling effectively brings the case to a close, with the bench finding the prosecution procedurally unsustainable in the absence of the required sanction.
The order adds to a string of legal challenges Gandhi has faced over public remarks made during his political career.
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