A special court in Pune has issued a significant order directing YouTube to provide crucial information about a video featuring Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. The case revolves around an alleged defamatory speech made by Gandhi against freedom fighter and Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.
Court's Order to YouTube
The Special MP/MLA Court in Pune passed this order on Thursday, allowing an application filed by Satyaki Savarkar. Satyaki, who is the grandnephew of V D Savarkar, had lodged a defamation complaint against Rahul Gandhi. The complaint pertains to remarks Gandhi allegedly made during a speech in London on March 5, 2023.
The court has directed YouTube LLC (Google Inc.) to produce specific details about the video in question. The information sought includes confirmation of whether Rahul Gandhi authored the video, along with critical technical metadata. This metadata comprises the upload date and time, URL, unique video ID, hash value, server logs, and any archived versions of the content.
The Background of the Case
Satyaki Savarkar initially filed the complaint in 2023, submitting news reports and a YouTube link as evidence. A CD containing the video was also presented to the court. However, during the complainant's chief examination last month, a technical glitch occurred—the CD failed to play, being found blank.
Following this, Satyaki's lawyer, Advocate Sangram Kolhatkar, filed the application urging the court to secure the evidence from its original source, YouTube. Kolhatkar argued that obtaining the data directly from the platform was essential to establish the authenticity and integrity of the alleged speech for the trial.
Simultaneously, the court allowed another application from Satyaki to accept two pen drives containing the same video, certified under Section 65 B of the Indian Evidence Act. These pen drives are scheduled to be played in court during the next hearing on December 31, 2025. After playback, one pen drive will be given to the defence, and the other will remain in court custody as evidence.
Legal Opposition and Allegations
Rahul Gandhi's legal team, represented by Advocate Milind Pawar, opposed both applications. Pawar stated that they plan to challenge the court's orders allowing the applications. The defence's objections set the stage for further legal arguments as the case proceeds.
The core of the defamation allegation, according to Satyaki, is that Rahul Gandhi claimed in his London speech that V D Savarkar wrote a book describing how he and friends beat up a Muslim individual and felt "delighted" about it. Satyaki has categorically denied this, asserting that no such book was ever written by Savarkar and that the described incident never took place.
The court's move to involve a global tech giant like YouTube for evidence marks a notable step in this politically charged legal battle, intertwining issues of free speech, historical interpretation, and digital evidence.
