SURAT: In a significant improvement, a court docket in Gujrat’s Surat on Thursday convicted Congress chief Rahul Gandhi in a legal defamation case filed towards him over his alleged ‘Modi surname’ remarks made by him in 2019. The court docket of Chief Judicial Magistrate HH Varma held Rahul Gandhi responsible underneath Section 504 of the Indian Penal Code part, which offers with intentional insult with intent to impress a breach of peace. Rahul Gandhi, presently the Congress MP from Wayanad, was current within the court docket when the decision was pronounced. The court docket sentenced Rahul Gandhi to 2 years in jail however he has been launched on bail so he can attraction the decision.
Gandhi had reached town yesterday and was obtained by senior celebration leaders, together with Jagdish Thakor, legislature celebration chief Amit Chavda, senior chief Arjun Modhwadia, AICC in-charge of Gujarat Raghu Sharma on the Surat airport.
What Did Rahul Gandhi Actually Say?
Apparently taking a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress MP, whereas addressing a rally at Kolar in Karnataka forward of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, mentioned, “how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?” Raising sturdy objections to his remarks, a case was filed towards him by former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi. Rahul Gandhi was booked underneath Sections 499 and 500 (defamation). He had final appeared earlier than the Surat court docket in October 2021 and document his assertion.
Who Filed The Case Against Rahul Gandhi?
The case towards Rahul Gandhi was filed underneath IPC sections 499, 500 (for legal defamation), and 504 on a grievance lodged by BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi. These sections invite a jail time period of as much as two years or high-quality or each.
Who Is Purnesh Modi?
Purnesh Modi was a minister within the first tenure of the Bhupendra Patel authorities. He was re-elected from the Surat West Assembly seat within the December elections. In 2019, when Purnesh Modi filed the case towards him, Rahul Gandhi shrugged it off as a ‘determined’ transfer by his political rivals to ‘silence’ him.
What Were the Arguments Of Rahul Gandhi’s Lawyer?
Rahul Gandhi’s lawyer has argued earlier than the court docket that authorized proceedings towards his consumer had been “flawed” from the start. The lawyer additionally argued that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and never MLA Purnesh Modi, ought to have been the complainant within the case as a result of the PM was the primary goal of Gandhi’s speech.
The court docket concluded the ultimate arguments from each side and set March 23 because the date to pronounce its judgment within the four-year-old defamation case. Senior Congress chief and MLA Arjun Modhwadia mentioned final week that the reality was being put to check and harassed. He claimed the BJP foisted false instances towards Gandhi.
Meanwhile, the ruling BJP has welcomed the conviction and sentencing of Rahul Gandhi within the Modi Surname case.
