The fate of the defamation case against Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi took an unexpected turn on Wednesday after the Supreme Court faulted the Magistrate’s decision to involve Maharashtra cops to probe the defamation case.
The Court said the Magistrate cannot ask the police to investigate a private criminal defamation complaint as it is the complainant who needs to prove the case. The development is significant as the court can set aside the summons issued to Rahul Gandhi and direct rehearing of the complaint by the Magistrate court.
The Congress scion has been accused of making a speech at a political rally in Sonale, Maharashtra, on March 6, 2015, where he made a sweeping comment against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) accusing them of having a hand in killing Mahatma Gandhi. Just a week ago, the Court lashed out on Gandhi for making a “collective denunciation” of the RSS and asked him to tender an apology or face trial. The Court even asked Gandhi’s counsel to file a response in this regard.
But on Wednesday, the hearing took a different turn as the Bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Rohington F Nariman said that under the law on defamation, the Magistrate could not have asked police to enquire into a private defamation complaint and later act upon it to summon the petitioner. “If the process of taking cognizance is erroneous then the matter may be remanded back to Magistrate,” the Bench observed.
The Bench told senior advocate Kapil Sibal appearing for Gandhi and senior advocate UR lalit appearing for the complainant, one Rajesh Mahadev Kunte, to assist on this legal question and posted the matter for hearing on August 23. The court said that in its recent judgment upholding the constitutional validity of defamation in the Indian Penal Code, it made reference to this fact and held that in a private criminal defamation complaint the complainant has to satisfy the Court and police will have no role in a criminal defamation case. Both Sibal and lalit sought time to prepare on this point before next date.