'Modi surname' defamation case: The problem seems to be not getting over for Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the 'Modi surname' defamation case as a court in Patna has asked him to appear before it on April 25.
According to reports, the defamation case in the MP/MLA court was lodged by BJP's Rajya Sabha MP and former Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi. Earlier on March 18, The MP/MLA court of Special Judicial Magistrate Aadi Dev had passed an order asking the former Wayanad MP to appear before it on April 12.
However, during the hearing on Wednesday, the defence counsel sought another date stating that the entire team was busy with the Surat case, in which Gandhi was sentenced to two years in prison and disqualified from the Lok Sabha.
To this, the judge asked Gandhi's counsel to ensure his physical appearance before the court on the next date of hearing in the case on April 25.
Prosecution lawyer Priya Gupta told reporters that statements from the complainant's side have been recorded and all evidence submitted to the court and now only the statement of Gandhi is to be recorded.
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Surat court sentences Rahul Gandhi to 2 years in jail
It should be mentioned here that a court in Gujarat's Surat sentenced Congress leader Gandhi to two years in jail in a 2019 criminal defamation case filed against him over his "Modi surname" remarks. A case was filed against Gandhi for his alleged “How come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?”
He stated this while addressing a rally at Kolar in Karnataka ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Notably, the complaint against his remarks was lodged by BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi.
(With inputs from PTI)
