Thane/Mumbai, February 21 Congress leader Rahul Gandhi appeared before the Bhiwandi magistrate's court on Saturday to provide a fresh surety in a 2014 defamation case filed by an RSS activist, naming the party's Maharashtra chief, Harshwardhan Sapkal, as his new guarantor.
Gandhi, on his way to the court in Thane district, Maharashtra, faced a black-flag protest by BJP activists at the Mulund toll plaza, who shouted slogans, accusing the opposition Congress of damaging India's image through the Youth Congress's protest at the AI Impact Summit in Delhi.
The Court of Joint Civil Judge and Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) P. M. Kolse scheduled the next hearing in the defamation case for April 4 after completing the necessary formalities regarding Gandhi's new surety.
The Congress leader had already been granted exemption from personal appearance in the case filed by RSS activist Rajesh Kunte, who alleged that the Congress leader, while addressing a rally at Sonale village during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, had stated that the Sangh was behind the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.
The court had asked the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha to appear in person to provide a new surety in the case following the death of his previous guarantor, former Union Minister Shivraj Patil Chakurkar, on December 12, 2025.
Patil had acted as Gandhi's guarantor in 2016 when the court granted him bail after he appeared before it.
On Saturday, the proceedings for the new surety were conducted in a fast-track setup, lasting approximately 15 minutes.
"The court has formally accepted the surety papers of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president, Harshwardhan Sapkal. The matter is now adjourned to April 4," Gandhi's counsel, Narayan Iyer, told
