Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday moved Bombay High Court, contesting a decision made by a Magistrate court related to a defamation complaint filed against him by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker. The Magistrate court, on June 3, granted Rajesh Kunte, the RSS worker, permission to present documents during his court testimony.
In his complaint before the Bhiwandi Magistrate, Kunte accused Rahul Gandhi of making defamatory statements against the RSS, alleging that the Congress leader held the Hindu outfit "responsible for the assassination of the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi".
In the course of the proceedings at the Magistrate court, Kunte introduced additional documents that were not originally part of his complaint. These documents were submitted by Kunte during his examination in chief at the Bhiwandi Magistrate court in Thane.
On July 12, 2019, Kunte provided a video copy of a tweet by Rahul Gandhi and documents to support his evidence. Kunte argued that the mentioned video in the complaint was uploaded on Gandhi's X (formerly known as Twitter) account on August 25, 2016, and thus, communication-related to it needed to be entered into the record.
"The complainant is yet to be examined by the accused, and copies of the same are provided to the accused. Therefore, the production of the document should be allowed. No prejudice will be caused to the accused if the production of the document is allowed," Kunte had said.
Advocate NV Iyer, representing Gandhi, opposed the submission of these additional documents. Iyer contended that the additional documents aimed to introduce documents that had not been filed by the complainant since 2014.
"The complainant has failed to specify any ground for filing this document at a belated stage. It is a matter of record that the said documents find no mention in the instant complaint, and no averment whatsoever has been made by the complainant regarding these documents," Iyer submitted.
Gandhi has approached the High Court, asserting that Kunte failed to provide any justification for submitting these documents at such a late stage. Gandhi maintained that these documents were not mentioned in the original complaint and were presented after a lapse of nine years. He argued that permitting the production of these documents would be prejudicial to his case.
WHAT HAPPENED IN HIGH COURT?
In the High Court, Gandhi's petition, filed through Advocate Kushal Mor, highlighted that in 2021, Justice Revati Mohite Dere had dismissed a petition filed by Kunte seeking admission or denial of the allegedly defamatory speech made by Gandhi.
Justice Dere had opined that Kunte's possession of a certified copy of the petition, along with annexures, did not give him the authority to compel Gandhi to admit or deny the annexures.
Mor argued before Justice SV Kotwal's bench that despite this order, the Magistrate had allowed Kunte to exhibit the same documents during his examination in chief.
Justice Kotwal expressed the view that if a bench of the same rank had already addressed this issue, it would be appropriate for the same judge to hear this petition as well. "If you are saying this issue has already been covered by this High Court, it would be better if the same judge hears this petition. There are observations by the judge. Let that judge sit in review instead of me sitting in appeal," Justice Kotwal remarked.
The judge recorded in his order, "Considering the submissions made by Mor, propriety dictates that the matter be placed before the same learned judge who heard the matter."
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