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A Magistrate Court in Surat has held Rahul Gandhi “guilty” in the defamation case over his ‘Modi Surname’ remark. He has been sentenced to two years in jail.
The Sessions Court in Surat, Gujarat today rejected Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's plea seeking stay on his conviction in the 2019 criminal defamation case for his "all thieves have Modi surname" remark.
Judge Robin Mogera had reserved the order in Gandhi's interim application on April 13, 2023.
On March 23, 2023, the Congress leader who was then a parliamentarian from Wayanad, Kerala, was convicted by Surat District Court and sentenced to two years in jail. This conviction led to Gandhi's disqualification from his membership in Lok Sabha.
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.
Subsequent to his conviction by the magistrate court, Gandhi filed an appeal before the Sessions Court, which earlier this month, extended the bail granted to Gandhi by the magistrate court till April 13, 2023. The appeal being pending, Gandhi moved an interim application seeking stay on his conviction.
Before the sessions court, Senior Advocate RS Cheema appeared on behalf of the Congress leader. On the last date of hearing, the senior counsel had argued that the trial in the matter was not fair.
He had further stated that the decision of the magistrate court was strange and the judge made a "hotchpotch" of all the evidence on record.
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