The Supreme Court on Friday quashed a criminal defamation complaint and the summons issued by a trial court against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over remarks he made about Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu held that the required sanction had not been obtained in the matter, leading the court to set aside the complaint and the orders passed by the magistrate. The case relates to comments made by Gandhi about Savarkar on November 17, 2022, during the Congress leader's Bharat Jodo Yatra in Maharashtra's Akola district.

Gandhi's remarks subsequently became the subject of a criminal defamation complaint filed by advocate Nripendra Pandey, who alleged that the Congress leader had intentionally insulted Savarkar during his public address. The complainant had alleged that Gandhi's remarks were not merely criticism but formed part of a deliberate and well-planned conspiracy to defame Savarkar. Proceedings were initiated against Gandhi, and a subordinate court subsequently issued summons requiring him to appear in connection with the complaint. Gandhi challenged the trial court's decision and sought relief from the higher judiciary.

The legal dispute eventually reached the Supreme Court after proceedings before the lower courts. The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court had on April 4, 2025 observed that Gandhi could file a revision petition before the sessions court. The high court had therefore declined to intervene at that stage, leaving the Congress leader to pursue the available legal remedy before the appropriate subordinate court. During Friday's hearing, the Supreme Court focused on the procedural requirement of sanction in the case. The bench noted that the affidavit filed by the Uttar Pradesh government did not disclose that the necessary sanction had been obtained.

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The judges consequently held that the complaint and the orders passed by the magistrate could not stand. “Additional Solicitor General and advocate for complainant, in the affidavit filed by UP, submits there is no disclosure of sanction,” the bench observed. The court then concluded that, in view of the absence of the required sanction, the complaint and the magistrate's orders should be quashed. The ruling brings an end to the particular criminal defamation proceedings and summons that had been challenged by Gandhi. The Supreme Court's decision was based on the procedural issue concerning sanction rather than an adjudication of the merits of Gandhi's comments about Savarkar.  As a result, the court did not enter into a determination of whether the remarks were defamatory.

The case had attracted attention because Savarkar remains a politically significant and contested historical figure, with Gandhi and the Congress frequently facing criticism from the BJP and other groups over their comments about him. Gandhi's remarks during the Bharat Jodo Yatra had therefore generated a political as well as legal controversy. For Gandhi, the Supreme Court order removes the immediate legal proceedings arising from the complaint filed over the 2022 remarks. The ruling also underscores the importance of procedural safeguards in criminal proceedings, with the court relying on the absence of the required sanction to invalidate the complaint and the summons issued by the magistrate.

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