Vinayak Savarkar never attempted suicide to evade Kapur Commission: Kin rebuts Rahul Gandhi's questions

Satyaki Savarkar, grandnephew of Vinayak Savarkar, refuted suggestions by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, that his uncle had attempted suicide by jumping into the sea at Worli out of fear of the Kapur Commission, the one man body set up to investigate the conspiracy surrounding the killing of father of nation, Mahatma Gandhi [Satyaki Savarkar v. Rahul Gandhi]

Satyaki Savarkar's rebuttal came during his cross-examination in the criminal defamation case filed by him against Rahul Gandhi.

In proceedings before the Judicial Magistrate First Class in Pune Amol Shinde, Satyaki rejected the line of questioning by Gandhi's counsel regarding Savarkar's health and mindset.

"It is not true to say that Savarkar attempted to commit suicide by jumping into the sea at Worli due to his apprehension of the Kapoor Commission. It is not true to say that Savarkar was extremely frightened after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi," Satyaki Savarkar said.

He was also asked whether Savarkar had evaded the commission of inquiry into Mahatma Gandhi's assassination.

"The witness voluntarily states that Savarkar was not summoned by the Kapoor Commission to give evidence. It can, therefore, be said that the Kapoor Commission was apprehensive of Savarkar because the truth would otherwise have come to light," Satyaki testified.

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 VD 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.

During the hearing, when confronted with social media claims regarding the Gandhi assassination conspiracy, Satyaki asserted that revisiting the matter undermined the judiciary.

"The assassination of Mahatma Gandhi was subjected to a thorough judicial inquiry. The accused were convicted, whereas Savarkar was acquitted by the special court. Therefore, asking such a question would amount to casting doubt on the judicial process and would constitute contempt of court," Satyaki said.

The Court deferred further cross-examination to November 3.

Advocate Sangram Kolhatkar appeared for Satyaki Savarkar.

Advocate Milind Pawar appeared for Rahul Gandhi.