A Sessions Court in Surat on Monday extended bail to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the 2019 defamation case till the disposal of his appeal. Gandhi had been convicted and sentenced for his remark against Modi surnames on March 23.
The next hearing will be on April 13. Though the court didn’t stay the conviction of Gandhi, it issued notice to complainant BJP MLA Purnesh Modi, who has been told to file his reply by April 10.
The court further said that there was no need for the Congress leader to appear before it on the next date of hearing.
Gandhi challenged his conviction in the defamation case over his remark “why all thieves share the Modi surname,” which was made during election campaigning in Karol, Karnataka in April 2019.
The appeal had two applications. The first application pertained to suspension of sentence, which was essentially an application for regular bail, while the second pertained to suspension of conviction.
The membership of Rahul Gandhi for the Lok Sabha can be restored in case the second application is allowed, subject to the issuance of notification of the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
On March 23, Chief Judicial Magistrate HH Varma had sentenced Gandhi to two years in jail, after which he was disqualified as MP of Lok Sabha.
However, he was granted bail to enable him to move an appeal against his conviction within 30 days. CJM Varma had convicted Gandhi after finding him guilty under Sections 499 (Defamation) and 500 (punishment for defamation) IPC.
Gandhi’s conviction under Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), both of which warrant a maximum sentence of two years, led to his disqualification from the Parliament, as per a Supreme Court order of 2013.
MLA Purnesh Ishvarbhai Modi, a former Gujarat minister, had filed the defamation suit against Gandhi in Surat, alleging that the remark had defamed the entire Modi community. On the basis of his complaint, a case was registered against Gandhi at Adajan Police Station in Surat district.