Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi

New Delhi, Feb 18: Satyaki Savarkar, grandnephew of Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, has approached a local court here seeking voice samples of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in connection with a defamation complaint filed against him over alleged remarks about the late revolutionary.

The application was moved on Tuesday before Judicial Magistrate (First Class) (MP/MLA Special Court) A A Shinde by Satyaki’s counsel Sangram Kolhatkar. In the plea, it was stated that while evidence has been produced to establish the case beyond reasonable doubt, voice samples of the accused are “an indispensable piece of evidence” for proper adjudication of certain electronic recordings placed on record.

The complainant urged the court to direct Rahul Gandhi to submit his voice samples before the competent authority. He further sought directions to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) to conduct a scientific examination and comparison of the samples with the recordings available in court.

Satyaki Savarkar had filed the complaint in 2023, alleging that Rahul Gandhi, currently the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, claimed during a speech in London that V D Savarkar had written in a book that he and five to six friends had once assaulted a Muslim man and that he felt happy about it.

The complaint contends that no such statement was ever written by V D Savarkar and that the remarks were defamatory.

Meanwhile, advocate Milind Pawar, appearing for Rahul Gandhi, commenced the cross-examination of Satyaki Savarkar on Tuesday as the matter came up for hearing.