Surat Court to pass order on Rahul Gandhi's interim plea in defamation case on April 20
Apr 13, 2023
Surat (Gujarat) [India], April 13 : Surat Court will pass order on an interim application filed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi seeking a stay on his conviction in a 2019 defamation case on 'Modi surname' remark on April 20.
Surat Sessions Court on April 3 granted bail to the Congress leader, who had filed an appeal following his conviction in the criminal defamation case.
Rahul Gandhi lost membership in the Lower House of Parliament after the Surat court convicted and sentenced him in a 2019 criminal defamation case.
The case pertained to a remark he made using the surname 'Modi' while addressing a campaign event ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
At a rally in Karnataka's Kolar in April 2019, Rahul, in a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said, "How come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?".
Following his conviction, Rahul was disqualified as an MP on March 24, as per a Supreme Court ruling in 2013. Under the ruling, any MP or MLA is automatically disqualified if convicted and sentenced to two years or more.
