A Pune court has declined a request to present a YouTube video as evidence in the ongoing defamation case against Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, concerning his alleged defamatory statements against Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. The case, filed by Satyaki Savarkar, V.D. Savarkar's grand-nephew, centers around a speech Gandhi delivered in London in 2023.

The special MP/MLA court in Pune is presiding over the case, where Satyaki Savarkar alleges that Rahul Gandhi made "objectionable and derogatory" statements against Vinayak Savarkar. According to the complaint, Gandhi claimed Savarkar wrote in a book about how he and some friends assaulted a Muslim man and felt happy about it, an incident Satyaki asserts never occurred and was never written by Savarkar.

A key development occurred during a hearing on November 14 when a CD, purportedly containing the video of Gandhi's speech and submitted as primary evidence, was found to be blank. The court, led by Special Judge Amol Shinde, was shocked to discover the CD contained no data during Satyaki's examination-in-chief.

Following the discovery, Satyaki's lawyer, Advocate Sangram Kolhatkar, requested the court to allow the YouTube video of the speech to be played. However, Rahul Gandhi's counsel, Advocate Milind Pawar, strongly objected, arguing that the complainant was not the owner of the YouTube channel and that online content is not directly admissible as evidence.

The court sided with the defense, stating that the URL link to the YouTube video lacked the necessary certificate under Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act, which is mandatory for electronic records to be admissible as evidence. Judge Shinde emphasized that the certificate provided for the CD could not be used for the YouTube URL. The court further noted that the case was filed based on a cause of action that arose in 2023, when the speech was allegedly delivered, telecasted, and circulated, and therefore, it could not play the URL in court. The court stated that the complainant has to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt and found no merit in the application to play the YouTube video.

Adding to the evidentiary complications, the court on Thursday, November 27, also rejected Satyaki Savarkar's plea to play an additional CD, stating that no such CD was on record. Advocate Kolhatkar claimed that this additional CD, along with the original, had been submitted when the case was registered in 2023 and had been played before a previous judge, who then issued summons to Rahul Gandhi. Kolhatkar has sought a judicial inquiry into the blank CD and the missing additional CD.

In September 2025, another application by Satyaki Savarkar seeking additional directions, including data from YouTube and a restraining order to prevent Gandhi from deleting the video, was dismissed. The court ruled that a restraining order would infringe on Gandhi's personal liberty and that existing material, including the CD already submitted, could be relied upon.

Rahul Gandhi, who appeared via video conferencing in July 2025, pleaded "not guilty" to the defamation charges and was granted bail on a bond of ₹15,000. He has also appealed in the Nashik Sessions Court against the initial issuing of process.