A Pune court has summoned Congress leader and MP Rahul Gandhi to appear in person on December 2 in connection with a criminal defamation case filed by Satyaki Savarkar, the grandnephew of Hindutva icon Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.

The order was issued by special court judge MP/MLA Amol Shinde, who had earlier ordered Gandhi to appear on October 23. However, Gandhi’s lawyer informed the court that the earlier summons had not been received.

Advocate Sangram Kolhatkar, appearing for the complainant, sought issuance of fresh summons, while advocate Milind Pawar, appearing for Gandhi, assured the court that his client would appear on the next scheduled date.

The defamation claim stems from a remark Gandhi made during a speech in London in March 2023. In his speech, Gandhi reportedly said Savarkar had written about an incident in which he and a group of friends assaulted a Muslim man, a moment when Savarkar allegedly claimed to have taken “pleasure” in it.

Satyaki Savarkar has denied the presence of any such statement in Savarkar’s writings and alleges that Gandhi’s remarks are defamatory.

In his petition, Satyaki sought the maximum punishment against Gandhi under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which deals with punishment for criminal defamation. He also demanded the maximum compensation allowed under Section 357 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which empowers courts to order compensation to victims of crimes.