Court imposes Rs 200 fine on Rahul Gandhi, directs to appear on Apr 14

Lucknow: A local court in Lucknow on Wednesday imposed a fine of Rs 200 on Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi as the Congress leader failed to appear before it in connection with a case related to his alleged controversial remark against Veer Savarkar, according to reports.

UNI quoting sources said that the court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) has directed Rahul to appear before it on April 14 on an application filed by lawyer Nripendra Pandey. "The lawyer in his complaint had alleged that during a press conference in Akola in Maharashtra in December 2022 had described Veer Savarkar as a servant and pensioner of the British. He demanded to register a case against Rahul under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)," they said.

They further said that the complainant had alleged that the MP from Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh gave the statement with intention of spreading animosity and hatred in the society. "Pandey in his complaint has alleged that the press conference pamphlets in this regard were also distributed during the press conference in this regard," they said.

They also said that during hearing Rahul's counsel Prashu Agarwal moved an application and argued that due to his pre-planned schedule his client could not appear before the court. "He pleaded that Rahul is the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and he was scheduled to meet a distinguished foreign guest on March 5," they said.

Sources said that however the court imposed the fine of Rs 200 on the Congress leader and directed him to appear before it on April 14, the next date of hearing. "The court has directed that Rahul should appear before it at any cost otherwise further legal action could be initiated against him," they said.