Pune court summons Rahul Gandhi on October 23 in Savarkar defamation case

A special court in Pune has summoned Rahul Gandhi in a criminal defamation case filed by the grandnephew of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, accusing the Congress leader of making objectionable remarks against the Hindutva ideologue.The court issued the summons to Gandhi on Friday, asking him to appear before it on October 23. Last year, Savarkar's grandnephew, Satyaki Savarkar, had lodged a complaint against the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha in this connection in a Pune court. Last month, the case was transferred to the special court for MPs and MLAs from the Judicial Magistrate First Class (FMFC) court. Advocate Sangram Kolhatkar, who represents Satyaki Savarkar, told PTI that the special court for MPs an MLAs, presided over by Joint Civil Judge and Judicial Magistrate (First Class) Amol Shinde, issued the summons against Gandhi stating that his attendance is necessary to answer a charge punishable under section 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in the case, and he