Rahul Gandhi appears in Bhiwandi court in RSS defamation case

Mumbai: Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi appeared before a magistrate’s court in Bhiwandi in Thane district to furnish a fresh surety in the defamation case filed against the Congress leader by an RSS activist.

Following the death of former Lok Sabha Speaker and Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil in December 2025, the court asked him to furnish a fresh surety.

Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee President Harshavardhan Sapkal has furnished the fresh surety for Gandhi.

The magistrate specifically instructed Gandhi to be present in person to complete the formalities related to the new surety.

An RSS activist Rajesh Kunte filed the defamation case before a magistrate court in Bhiwandi in 2014 for Gandhi blaming the RSS for the killing of Mahatma Gandhi.

According to Kunte's complaint filed under section 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code, the false statement damaged the RSS's reputation.

Meanwhile, as Gandhi was travelling from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai to Bhiwandi in Thane, he was shown black flags in response to the Youth Congress’s protest at the AI Summit.