Will face trial, says Rahul Gandhi over RSS killed Gandhi statement

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday informed the Apex court that he is ready to face trial for his statement in which he said that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) killed Mahatma Gandhi, but won't back down from his remarks which linked the Hindu nationalist group to the assassination on January 30, 1948.

"I stand by what I said and will repeat. I am ready to face trial," Gandhi told the Supreme Court on Thursday, speaking through his lawyer Kapil Sibal.

The Supreme Court has refused to exempt Gandhi from personally appearing before a magistrate, and his case will continue in a lower court.

If found guilty of criminal defamation under the Indian Penal Code, the Congress leader faces a prison sentence of upto two years, or a fine, or both.

While addressing a public rally ahead of the national election in 2014, Gandhi allegedly said, "RSS people killed Gandhiji and their people talk of Gandhiji."

Back in July, the SC told Rahul Gandhi that he should apologise for his remarks about the RSS, or prepare for a trial in which he would have to explain the public good of his statement.

"Why did you make a sweeping statement against the RSS branding everyone associated with the organisation in the same brush," the apex court said. "You can't make wholesale denunciation of an organisation."

Last month, Gandhi told SC that he never blamed RSS as an institution that killed Mahatma Gandhi, but rather that a person associated with it was responsible for his assassination.

When the RSS claimed that he was backtracking and called for a public apology, Gandhi tweeted, "I will never stop fighting hateful and the divisive agenda of RSS. I stand by every single word I said."