Pune: Researcher’s Plea for Intervention in Rahul Gandhi-Savarkar Defamation Case Rejected by Court, Rs 20,000 Cost Imposed for ‘Consumeing Court’s Time’
Pune, 15th August 2026: The sessions court in Pune on August 14 rejected an intervention application filed by researcher Pankaj K Phadnis seeking to participate in the private criminal defamation case filed by Satyaki Savarkar, grandnephew of late Vinayak Savarkar, against Leader of Opposition in the parliament and senior congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Amol Shriram Shinde held that Phadnis had no legal right or locus standi to intervene in the proceedings. The court also imposed a cost of Rs 20,000 on him for “consuming” the court’s time and directed him to deposit the amount with the Pune District Legal Services Authority.
The case, filed by Satyaki Savarkar, relates to remarks made by Gandhi during an address in the UK in March 2023 about Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.
Phadnis had sought to be impleaded as a party, arguing that his more than 25 years of research on Savarkar and documentary material would assist the court in determining the truth. He has authored three books on the subject.
Both Satyaki Savarkar and Gandhi opposed the application. Savarkar’s lawyer, Sangram Kothalkar, argued that criminal law does not provide for an intervenor in a private complaint and alleged that Phadnis was attempting to delay the trial and promote his books through the proceedings.
Gandhi’s lawyer, Milind Pawar, argued that allowing a third party to intervene would alter the scope of the trial and prejudice Savarkar’s ongoing cross-examination. He also submitted that Gandhi had a fundamental right to a fair trial and could not be forced to defend himself against an “expanding target”.
The court accepted the submissions and rejected Phadnis’s application, observing that he could not claim the status of an aggrieved person under Section 199 of the CrPC merely on the ground that his feelings were hurt.
Satyaki Savarkar’s cross-examination by Gandhi’s counsel will continue on August 17.
