Vinayak Savarkar was not involved in the conspiracy or killing of Mahatma Gandhi, Savarkar's grandnephew Satyaki Savarkar maintained before a Pune court on Tuesday [Satyaki Savarkar v. Rahul Gandhi]

Satyaki Savarkar made the statement as part of his cross-examination by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhis's counsel in a defamation case filed against the latter for his remarks about Vinayak Savarkar.

Satyaki Savarkar also blamed the lax in security for the death of Mahatma.

Satyaki Savarkar was extensively cross-examined before a Pune Magistrate on the findings of the Justice Jivan Lal Kapur Commission, the one man body set up to investigate the conspiracy surrounding the killing of father of nation, Mahatma Gandhi 

Advocate Milind D Pawar for Gandhi confronted Savarkar with multiple portions of the Commission's report. Savarkar admitted that he had not read the report of the Kapoor Commission totally.

However, he said that witnesses including the prime convict, Madanlal Pahava and co-convict Digambar Badage were not examined by the Commission out of fear that the shortcomings of the police would be highlighted. 

“The witnesses who were not called for examination are Madanlal Pahava, Digambar Badage, Gajanan Damale, Appa Kasar etc. They were not called because the ignorance of protecting Gandhiji would have been revealed,” Savarkar said.  

When questioned on the report's chapters, Savarkar declined to evaluate the findings directly.

Pawar specifically drew the Court's attention to portions which reproduce the testimony of Barrister Purshottam Trikamdas regarding Mahatma Gandhi’s remarks in early January 1948.

“He then said 'Sardar calls himself my Chela (disciple), Jawaharlal calls him- self my Beta (son) but both of them seem to think that I am crazy and nobody listens to me ‘mera koi sunta nahin hai’. He was in a very depressed mood.”

He was also shown paragraphs which dealt with intelligence warnings involving top leaders. It highlighted security efforts.

“Sardar Patel told him even in September 1947, that he wanted every visitor to Mahatma Gandhi to be searched but Gandhiji would not allow it.” 

The Commission report recorded that Madanlal planned to kill Mahatma Gandhi but he had not involved Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in it. 

The criminal defamation complaint against Rahul Gandhi stemmed from remarks made by him in the United Kingdom in March 2023, where he allegedly claimed that Savarkar wrote in his memoirs about assaulting a Muslim man.

Gandhi allegedly claimed that Savarkar wrote in his memoirs about an incident where he and others assaulted a Muslim man and derived pleasure from the act.

Satyaki Savarkar initiated criminal defamation proceedings under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sought compensation under Section 357 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), asserting that no such incident exists in Vinayak Savarkar's published works and accusing Gandhi of distorting history.

During his October 14 cross-examination, Satyaki Savarkar had testified that he does not support Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination. He also noted that Vinayak Savarkar had also condemned it.

Satyaki had also refuted suggestions that Savarkar attempted suicide by jumping into the sea at Worli out of fear of the Commission.

Advocate Sangram Kolhatkar appeared for Satyaki.

The cross-examination will continue on December 4.