Rahul Gandhi’s Lawyer to Withdraw ‘Threat to Life’ Plea, Admits Filing Without Consent in Savarkar Case

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s lawyer announced he will withdraw a controversial application that claimed a “threat to life” for his client in the defamation case filed by a relative of V.D. Savarkar. The lawyer, Milind Pawar, admitted to a Pune court that he had filed the explosive plea “without instructions” from Gandhi and that the Congress leader had taken “strong exception” to its contents.

The turn of events came just hours after reports emerged that Gandhi had claimed to fear for his life, citing the complainant’s alleged lineage to associates of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassins. The application, which Pawar now intends to formally withdraw on August 14, had made sensational claims, stating there was a “clear, reasonable, and substantial apprehension that Gandhi may face harm… by persons subscribing to the ideology of Vinayak Savarkar.” It explicitly mentioned the “documented history of violent and anti-constitutional tendencies linked to the complainant’s lineage” and warned that “history must not be permitted to repeat itself.”

Pawar has now disavowed the very application he drafted and filed. “My client has taken strong exception to filing of this [application] and has expressed his disagreement with the contents,” he stated, adding, “The contents… were drafted by me without consulting my client Shri Rahul Gandhi.” This public disavowal and planned withdrawal effectively retract the day’s most startling political claim.

The defamation case itself was filed by Satyaki Savarkar over remarks Gandhi made in London in March 2023. Gandhi had allegedly referred to Savarkar’s writings, claiming he and others had assaulted a Muslim man and found “pleasure” in it. The complainant has disputed the existence of any such writing, arguing that Gandhi’s remarks were deliberately misleading and defamatory. The case will now proceed without the highly charged “threat to life” plea.