Karnataka High Court issues notice to Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao in RSS defamation case

3 min readBengaluruUpdated: Jul 17, 2026 01:26 PM IST

While dropping the charges against Dinesh Gundu Rao, the trial court issued a summons to Priyank Kharge and Mohammed Haris Nalapad. (File Photo)

The Karnataka High Court Friday issued notice on a petition challenging a trial court’s order dropping the criminal defamation complaint against Congress leader Dinesh Gundu Rao, accused of making statements questioning the activities, objectives, and functioning of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Justice M Nagaprasanna issued notice to Rao on the petition filed by complainant Tejas A, a member of the RSS and posted the matter for further hearing on July 31.

Tejas challenged the order dated June 27, in which the trial court took cognisance of his complaint only in regard to Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge and Congress leader Mohammed Haris Nalapad over allegedly defamatory remarks made against the RSS, but dropped it against Rao.

While dropping the charges against Rao, the trial court issued a summons to Kharge and Nalapad, returnable on July 21.

‘False and defamatory’

Appearing for Tejas, Advocate Venkatesh S Dalwai argued that the same allegations have been levelled against Rao, but the trial court refused to take cognisance of the complaint against him.

In his complaint, Tejas said Kharge issued communications and public statements about the activities of the RSS and also published certain comments on social media platforms. He alleged that the statements attributed unlawful, antisocial, and objectionable activities to the RSS and its members and portrayed the organisation in a negative light.

He also alleged that Rao, through his statements on social media, questioned the activities, objectives, and functioning of the RSS, and said they were “false and defamatory”.

Rao’s defence

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Rao said before the trial court that the statements and social media posts attributed to him were not directed against the complainant or specifically identifiable individual but were made in the context of condemning alleged death threats issued to Priyank Kharge and his family.

The Congress leader also contended that the statements were intended to promote public order and communal harmony and constituted an exercise of the right to freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.

After analysing the complaint, the trial court said Rao merely reacted to the alleged threats received by Kharge and expressed his perception regarding such conduct. “Therefore, the statement constitutes a reaction to a specific event and not a deliberate attempt to lower the reputation of the RSS or its members in the eyes of society,” the trial court said in its order.

“In the absence of any specific allegation, imputation, or accusation directed against the complainant personally or against a definite and identifiable body of persons, the basic ingredients of criminal defamation are not satisfied. Consequently, continuation of proceedings against Accused No 2 [Rao] would amount to an abuse of the process of law,” it added.