A Pune court on Thursday refused to allow the playing of a YouTube video in the ongoing defamation case against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, after the CD submitted as the primary evidence was found to be blank. The case pertains to Gandhi’s alleged 2023 speech in London about Hindu ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.

Judicial Magistrate (First Class) Amol Shinde is hearing the matter following a complaint filed by Satyaki Savarkar, the grand-nephew of Savarkar. During the complainant’s examination-in-chief on November 14, the CD containing the video could not be played, as it was discovered to contain no data.

Satyaki’s lawyer, Advocate Sangram Kolhatkar, stated that when the case was originally registered in 2023, a different judge had observed the video on the same CD playing successfully. “When the case was registered in 2023, we had submitted the original CD containing the alleged video along with the URL of the YouTube channel. The previous judge saw that the video in the CD was indeed playing. Now, the CD shows no data,” he said.

Following this, Satyaki requested the court to play the YouTube video directly, but the application was rejected. Rahul Gandhi’s counsel, Milind Pawar, opposed the move, arguing that the YouTube link could not be treated as admissible evidence.

Magistrate Shinde noted that while a certificate under Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act had been filed for the CD, this certificate did not extend to the YouTube URL. Consequently, the court declined to accept the video as evidence.

The ruling highlights procedural safeguards under Indian law, which require electronic evidence to be certified under Section 65B for it to be admissible in court. At present, the absence of valid evidence has prevented the YouTube video from being played before the court.