India, July 3 -- A Pune court has rejected a petitioner's request to obtain a copy of a book that Congress MP Rahul Gandhi cited during his speech in March 2023, which led to a defamation case against the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, media reports said.

Satyaki Savarkar, the grandnephew of Vinayak Savarkar, filed a petition in a special MP/MLA court in Pune, seeking a copy of the book that Gandhi used while attacking Vinayak Savarkar.

It said the trial has not yet started, so the defence cannot be compelled to disclose documents.

"... The burden of proof lies entirely on the complainant. The accused is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty. If the application is allowed, it would cause serious prejudice to the accus...