Key Points

HINDUTVA IDEOLOGUE VINAYAK DAMODAR SAVARKAR, most commonly known as “Veer Savarkar,”  had filed as many as ten mercy petitions before the British colonial government for his sentence to be reduced, his grandnephew Satyaki Savarkar told the Pune court on Monday, June 15, 2026. However, Satyaki asserted that it would be incorrect to assert that the language he used in his pleas were “submissive” or “expressed loyalty” to the government. 

Satyaki’s remarks came during a cross-examination before Special Judge Amol Shinde, during a court hearing in the defamation case filed by him against senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. During a speech given at an event in London on March 5, 2023, Gandhi allegedly made a defamatory and false speech against Veer Savarkar, who is Satyaki Savarkar’s grand uncle.

Satyaki maintained that during his London speech, Gandhi mentioned that Savarkar had written a book wherein he confessed to beating up a Muslim along with his five-six of his (Savarkar’s) friends, and being “delighted” about the act. Refuting the claims, Satyaki asserted that Savakar had written no such book.

Satyaki Savarkar Confirms 10 Mercy Petitions 

During the hearing — as per a report by Live Law — Satyaki said that “it is true to say that Savarkar had filed a clemency petition ten times.” He further added that records of the mercy petitions were available in government archives. Satyaki, however, rejected the suggestion that the filing of several clemency petitions was inconsistent with the Hindutva ideologue’s title of “veer”, or heroic. 

Satyaki also acknowledged that several other freedom fighters of that time period — like Rajguru, Bhagat Singh, Batukeshwar Dutt, and Ashfaqulla Khan — too did not submit clemency petitions before the then colonial government.

“It is true to say that Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt remained steadfast in their ideology and principles until the very end,” Satyaki stated during the hearing. “I am aware that revolutionist Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt did not compromise on their principles and ideologies in their dealings with the British right to the end,” he continued. 

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Satyaki was also questioned about why other revolutionaries were not given the moniker of “veer” like Savarkar, even though they did not file clemency petition before the British government and thus were hanged to death. 

Days after the revolutionaries' martyrdom, Veer Savarkar wrote a poem about Bhagat Singh wherein he referred to Singh as “veer,” Satyaki said. He also added that other revolutionaries were also “time-to-time glorified” in his articles and poems. 

Further, Satyaki stated that Savarkar was hailed as “veer” long before he was sentenced to the cellular jail in Andaman. A periodical journal published by the Ghadar organization referred to him as “Veer Savarkar” even before he was sent to Andaman.

Replying to a question posed by Gandhi’s counsel Milind Pawar, Satyaki told the court that the British government had rejected Savarkar’s clemency petitions. “The Britisher had in their reply to these petitions expressed concern that if Savarkar was released (from Andaman jail), he would again participate in revolutionary activities and cause a danger to British rule… Savarkar was not released merely because he submitted petitions,” Satyaki told the court.

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“Language used in the petitions was official and administrative in nature. Savarkar sought not only his own release but also the release of other prisoners languishing in Andaman jail for a long time,” Satyaki said. 

He submitted that there was no expert report available to prove that the language used in Savarkar’s mercy petitions was merely formal or strategic. He pointed out that Reginald Craddock, the then Home Member of the Government of India, had described Savarkar’s language in the petitions as “deceptive”.

Satyaki’s lawyer objected to the line of questioning, arguing that it was unrelated to the case. Advocate Pawar requested that the objection be decided at the final stage.

Next Hearing Scheduled for July 1 

In May 2024, the Pune city police submitted an inquiry report to the court stating that Rahul Gandhi had defamed Veer Savarkar in his speech to the Indian diaspora in London in March 2023. The case was later transferred to the special MP/MLA court in Pune in September 2024. Rahul Gandhi, who is the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, pleaded not guilty to the defamation charges in July 2025. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for July 1.

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