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Synopsis

The Surat District Court on Thursday held Congress Member of Parliament (MP) Rahul Gandhi “guilty” in a defamation case over his ‘Modi surname’ remark, ANI reported.

Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) HH Varma convicted and sentenced Gandhi to two years in jail. Subsequently, he was granted bail in the case.

In 2019, Gandhi in a poll rally at Kolar in Karnataka, said, “how come all thieves have Modi as the common surname”.

Thereafter, a defamation case was filed against Gandhi by Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) MLA and Former Gujarat Minister Purnesh Modi, under Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code. 

Gandhi had earlier, pleaded not guilty in the present case. He had last appeared before the Surat Court in the case in October 2021, to record his statement. 

It is to be noted that the Gujarat High Court, in February had vacated the stay on the trial in the present criminal defamation case. 

In a related news, the Jharkhand High Court in July 2022, dismissed a plea moved by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for quashing a defamation case against him. The case had been filed by an advocate belonging to the illustrious Modi family of Ranchi over Gandhi's alleged derogatory remarks against the entire 'Modi' community'. 

The complainant, namely Advocate Pradip Modi had filed a complaint in the year 2019 after Gandhi's speeches on March 2, 2019 in a Ranchi rally and on April 13, 2019 in a public rally held in the town of Kolar in Karnataka.

In the Ranchi rally, Gandhi had reportedly commented that "Afterall, Why are all Modi thieves?" (English translation), and in the Karnataka rally he had reportedly again said, "I have a question? Why do all thieves have Modi in their names, whether it is Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, or Narendra Modi? I don’t know how many more such Modi will come out.”

The complainant had alleged that Gandhi's remarks were against all persons having Modi surname/title and were derogatory and defamatory. "....and has lowered the reputation of Modi clan in public eyes and has caused immense hurt and anguish to person having Modi surname," he had stated in the complaint.