Vinayak Damodar Savarkar's grandnephew, Satyaki Savarkar, who filed defamation case against Congress' Rahul Gandhi over objectionable remarks made in March 2023, told the court that Savarkar had submitted 10 mercy petitions. He said petitions were rejected as British feared Savarkar would resume revolutionary activities. He added that it was incorrect to describe those petitions as "submissive".