Satyaki Savarkar tells Pune court that public support and a 1923 Congress resolution—not mercy petitions—led to V D Savarkar’s release from British imprisonment.
July 2, 2026: Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar’s release from British imprisonment was the result of growing public pressure and not the mercy petitions he submitted, his grandnephew Satyaki Savarkar told a Pune court on Wednesday. Testifying in the criminal defamation case against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Satyaki claimed that the 1923 Kakinada session of the Congress passed a resolution demanding Savarkar’s release, which, along with increasing public support, influenced the British government’s decision. He also argued that if a similar resolution had been passed for Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev before their execution, their lives could have been saved.
During cross-examination by Rahul Gandhi’s counsel, advocate Milind Pawar, portions of the alleged mercy petitions filed by Savarkar were presented before the court. Satyaki said he could not confirm whether the petitions were written by Savarkar or whether they contained any request for release on the condition that he would withdraw from political or revolutionary activities. However, he maintained that Savarkar’s eventual release was not linked to the mercy petitions.
The case arises from a criminal defamation complaint filed by Satyaki Savarkar in 2023 over remarks Rahul Gandhi allegedly made during a speech in London. According to the complaint, Gandhi falsely claimed that Savarkar had written about assaulting a Muslim man and taking pleasure in it. Satyaki has denied that such a statement appears in any of Savarkar’s writings. The matter is currently being heard before the MP/MLA Special Court in Pune.