A Bengaluru court on June 27 issued summons to Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge and Youth Congress leader Mohammed Nalapad on a criminal defamation complaint filed against them for their remarks against Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Sandeep Patil held that a case existed against Kharge and Nalapad for the offence of criminal defamation under Section 356 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Hence, the judge proceeded to take cognizance of the complaint against the two.
"Cognizance is taken of the offence punishable under Section 356 of BNS, 2023 against accused Nos.1 and 3. The proceedings against accused No.2 is dropped. Office is directed to register this case as a criminal case and issue summons to accused Nos.1 and 3, returnable by July 21, 2026," the Court said in its order.
However, it declined to proceed against former Karnataka minister Dinesh Gundu Rao.
The complaint was filed by Bengaluru resident A Tejas, an RSS worker, alleging that the accused made a series of defamatory statements targeting the RSS and its members in October 2025.
According to the complaint, Priyank Kharge, while serving as a minister, wrote to the Karnataka government on October 4, 2025, urging it to prevent the RSS from using government playgrounds, schools and colleges. The complainant alleged that the letter was deliberately released to the media and shared on Kharge's social media platforms with the intention of defaming the organisation.
The complaint further referred to social media posts allegedly made by Kharge on October 13 and 14 last year.
One social media posts said,
"Never befriend an RSS member. Not only friend, even if it is your family... They are the real abusers."
Another post claimed that RSS had not spared Mahatma Gandhi or B R Ambedkar.
The complainant alleged that these remarks portrayed RSS members as sexual predators and extremists, thereby damaging the organisation's reputation.
The complaint also cited statements attributed to Mohammed Nalapad during a media interaction. when he allegedly remarked that RSS members "have nothing beneath their shorts."
The complainant described the statement as obscene, insulting and intended to ridicule RSS members.
The complainant contended that the statements made by the accused were false, malicious and intended to lower the reputation of the RSS and its supporters. It was further alleged that none of the accused had withdrawn or apologised for the remarks and that their continued availability online had aggravated the alleged harm.
With regard to Dinesh Gundu Rao, the complaint referred to his social media posts supporting Kharge and questioning the RSS in the context of the murders of rationalists and journalist Gauri Lankesh, Govind Pansare and MM Kalburgi. However, the Court did not find sufficient grounds to proceed against him and dropped the proceedings against the former minister.