Satyaki, appearing as a witness in the criminal defamation trial against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, testified before the Special MP/MLA Court in Pune on August 17, 2026, that his maternal grandfather Gopal Godse and granduncle Nathuram Godse were active members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The testimony was given during cross-examination by counsel for Rahul Gandhi, Milind Pawar.
Satyaki stated that he is the son of the daughter of Gopal Godse, thereby establishing his maternal lineage to the Godse family. He confirmed that both the Godse and Savarkar families were related by blood. He further stated that in the case of Mahatma Gandhi's assassination, Nathuram Godse was accused as accused number one, Narayan Apte as accused number two, Vishnu Karkare as accused number three, Madanlal Pahava as accused number four, Shankar Kistayya as accused number five, Gopal Godse as accused number six, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar as accused number seven, and Dr. DS Parchure as accused number eight.
He affirmed that Nathuram Godse and Narayan Apte were sentenced to death, while Gopal Godse received a life sentence. After serving his sentence, Gopal Godse resided in Pune for approximately 35 years, where he died. During his residence in Pune, Gopal Godse wrote articles for newspapers and authored books.
Satyaki testified that his maternal grandfather Gopal Godse and Nathuram Godse were active members of the RSS. He also stated that Nathuram Godse was a member of the Hindu Mahasabha political party. He confirmed that his wife and maternal grandfather were members of the Hindu Mahasabha, which he noted continues to exist as a political party.
Regarding Vinayak Savarkar, Satyaki stated that after his release from the Andaman Jail, Savarkar served as President of the Hindu Mahasabha from 1937 to 1943. He acknowledged that he did not have personal knowledge of certain historical details, such as whether Gopal Godse gave an interview to a monthly magazine on January 28, 1994, or whether Nathuram Godse worked as an Intellectual Executive in 1944. He also stated he did not know if Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar or Digambar Badage were accused in the Gandhi assassination case, or if Badage had been arrested or sought pardon in connection with the case.
During the cross-examination, Satyaki's counsel, Sangram Kolhatkar, objected to the line of questioning, arguing that the queries about RSS affiliation and the Gandhi assassination were not relevant to the criminal defamation case. The court, presided over by Special Judge Amol Shinde, ruled that the objection would be decided at the time of final judgment.
Satyaki also described the aftermath of the assassination, stating that after Nathuram Godse shot Mahatma Gandhi, the latter lay unattended for about 20 minutes before anyone attempted to take him to a hospital. He attributed this delay to governmental apathy at the time.
Separately, through his counsel Kolhatkar, Satyaki filed an application before the court requesting the collection of a voice sample from Rahul Gandhi to compare with audio of his speech delivered in London, which forms the basis of the defamation claim. The application argues that the piecemeal nature of the cross-examination is causing unnecessary delay and that a voice sample would aid in verifying the authenticity of the alleged defamatory statement. The court has not yet ruled on this application.