The Surat Sessions Court on Thursday dismissed Rahul Gandhi’s plea for suspending his 2 years punishment in his ‘Modi surname’ case. The two years’ punishment given upon his conviction now remains and he continues to be disqualified as an MP.
During an election rally in the run-up to the 2019 elections, Rahul Gandhi had mocked an entire community by saying, “Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, Narendra Modi… how come they all have Modi as a common surname? How come all thieves have Modi as a common surname?”
Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Surat Purnesh Modi had filed a complaint against the Congress leader for defaming the entire Modi community. Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi was booked under Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code, which deal with criminal defamation.
In June 2021 Rahul Gandhi had appeared before a magistrate’s court in Surat to record his statement.
During the hearing, the Gandhi-scion Rahul Gandhi denied making any defamatory remarks on people with “Modi” surname. According to Desh Gujarat, a lawyer has said that Rahul Gandhi responded to every question with, “I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know”.
As the magistrate asked Rahul Gandhi if he had accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of giving Rs 30 crore to an industrialist, the Congress leader claimed that he was a national leader who raises issues of corruption and unemployment in his addresses in the interest of the nation. The Gandhi-scion claimed that it was his right to raise such issues in the rallies.
When the court asked if he had said all people with Modi surname were thieves, Gandhi claimed he never said such words. Prior to that, Rahul Gandhi had appeared before the court in October 2019 and had also pleaded not guilty for his comment.
In March this year, Surat court held him guilty in the criminal defamation case. Later, he had moved the higher court against the conviction. However, that, too, has now been dismissed.
