The Supreme Court on Friday quashed a criminal complaint against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over remarks he allegedly made about Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in November 2022.
A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu noted that the Uttar Pradesh government had not disclosed whether the required sanction for prosecution had been granted.
The court held that in the absence of such sanction, the complaint and subsequent orders could not stand.
Complaint Filed Over 2022 Remarks
The complaint was filed by lawyer Nripendra Pandey, who alleged that Gandhi had described Savarkar as a British collaborator who received a pension from the colonial government.
Gandhi had made the remarks during his Bharat Jodo Yatra in November 2022.
An additional chief judicial magistrate dismissed Pandey’s complaint in June 2023. Pandey subsequently challenged the decision before a sessions court, which allowed his plea and sent the matter back to the magistrate.
The magistrate later summoned Gandhi in December 2024.
Gandhi challenged the summons before the Allahabad High Court, but the court refused to quash it in April 2025. He then approached the Supreme Court.
Supreme Court Had Earlier Stayed Proceedings
The Supreme Court had stayed the criminal defamation proceedings against Gandhi in April 2025.
At the time, however, the court criticised Gandhi for his remarks about Savarkar and described them as irresponsible. The bench had also warned that it could initiate suo motu proceedings if Gandhi repeated similar remarks.
The latest order focused on the procedural requirement of prosecution sanction.
The court noted that the UP government’s affidavit contained “no disclosure of sanction [for prosecution] having been granted.”
It consequently held that without the required sanction, “the complaint and orders passed by the magistrate stand quashed.”
Gandhi Faces Another Savarkar Case in Maharashtra
The Congress leader is also facing a separate defamation case in Maharashtra over remarks about Savarkar made during an event in London in March 2023.
The case was filed by Satyaki Savarkar, Savarkar’s grand-nephew, who has alleged that Gandhi made the statements knowing that the allegations were untrue and with the intention of damaging the Savarkar family’s reputation.
The Maharashtra case is separate from the complaint that has now been quashed by the Supreme Court.
