Surat Court Finds Rahul Gandhi Guilty In ‘Modi Surname’ Remark Case, Grants Him Bail

SURAT: Surat District Court on Thursday sentenced Congress MP Rahul Gandhi to two years of imprisonment in the criminal defamation case filed against him over his alleged ‘Modi surname’ remark.

A court in Gujarat’s Surat held Congress leader Rahul Gandhi guilty in a 2019 criminal defamation case filed by a BJP MLA against him over “Modi surname” remarks. He was later granted bail by the court.

The court has held Gandhi guilty under the section 504 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The Section deals with ‘Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace’.

Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi was received at Surat airport by senior state Congress leaders, including GPCC president Jagdish Thakor, legislature party leader Amit Chavda, senior leader Arjun Modhwadia and AICC in-charge of Gujarat Raghu Sharma.

Groups of party functionaries assembled at different spots in Surat in a show of strength and support for Gandhi, holding posters and banners extolling him as ‘Sher-e-Hindustan’ (lion of Hindustan) and placards saying “Congress will not bow before the dictatorship of the BJP”.

The case was filed against Gandhi on a complaint lodged by BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi for his alleged "How come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?" remark.

The Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad is alleged to have made the remarks while addressing a poll rally at Kolar in Karnataka ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Rahul Gandhi was in Gujarat in December 2022 while campaigning for the Assembly elections, when the defamation case was filed.

The complaint against Rahul Gandhi was filed by BJP MLA Purnesh Modi who alleged that the Congress leader defamed the entire Modi community by his surname remarks.

"I'll see the details of the order before I say anything. Whatever Rahul Gandhi speaks it always affects Congress party and the entire nation in a negative way. Some Congress MPs told me that because of his attitude, Congress is suffering," Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju posted on Twitter after the news of Rahul's sentence and subsequent bail emerged.

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