Savarkar Defamation Case: CD With Rahul Gandhi’s Alleged Remarks Found Blank, Court Rejects Evidence

In the defamation case filed by Satyaki Savarkar, the grand-nephew of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, a CD submitted as key evidence against Rahul Gandhi before a Pune court was found to be blank. The CD containing Gandhi’s alleged speech from London, said to carry the remarks in question, was played before a special MP/MLA court in Pune on November 27, 2025, but the disc was found to be empty.

The original complaint, registered by Satyaki in 2023, accused Gandhi of making defamatory remarks about Savarkar during a speech delivered before an Indian diaspora gathering in London. Alongside print news reports, the complainant had submitted a CD and a YouTube video of the speech to support his case. After a magistrate ordered an inquiry under section 202 of the Criminal Procedure Code, police reportedly concluded in May 2024 that the remarks amounted to defamation.

The case was subsequently transferred to the special court for MPs/MLAs in Pune.

On November 14, the examination-in-chief of Satyaki began. But on November 29, when CD was attempted to be played before the court, it was found empty.

In response, Satyaki’s counsel, Advocate Sangram Kolhatkar, sought a judicial inquiry into how the disc, earlier submitted and accepted as evidence, had come to be blank. He also asked the court to play the YouTube link. To this, Gandhi’s counsel objected, arguing the online content lacked necessary authentication for admissibility.

The presiding judge Amol Shinde rejected the request to play the YouTube video, noting the absence of the certificate mandated by section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act.

A petition to play two additional CDs was also rejected because the court record contained no such CDs. As a result, court refused to admit any of the alternate versions of the speech recording as evidence.

The matter has been adjourned, with the next hearing scheduled for December 2, 2025.