Rahul tells SC he never blamed RSS for Gandhi's murder

His counsel Kapil Sibal said Rahul never accused the RSS as an institution for the crime but only people associated with it

The defamation case against Rahul Gandhi took a new twist today when his counsel told the Supreme Court that the Congress vice-president did not blame the RSS as an institution for the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, but only said that people associated with the organisation committed the crime. Since the organisation as such was not blamed, the complaint of criminal defamation would not stand, counsel Kapil Sibal submitted.

A criminal complaint was filed by an RSS leader, Rajesh Kunte, in a magistrate's court in Maharashtra alleging that Rahul had blamed the RSS for the assassination. The Congress leader moved the Supreme Court seeking to quash the complaint. Folllowing the explanation of Rahul's speech at an election rally in Thane two years ago, the Supreme Court bench consisting of Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Rohington Nariman adjourned the hearing till September 1 when it will pass an order.

While the complainant asserted that Rahul had castigated the whole organisation, Sibal pointed out from Rahul's petition in the high court that he had not blamed RSS as an institution, but only blamed people associated with it. The court was about to dispose of the petition on this statement, but counsel for Kunte wanted to get instruction from his client on this point.

The bench had pulled up Rahul last month for his alleged "collective denunciation" of RSS. The judges then observed, without any direction, that he may have to face trial or apologise for the remark.