A local court in Surat on Thursday convicted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a criminal defamation case for his remarks on "Modi surname" during an election campaign in 2019.
The court sentenced Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to two years imprisonment under Sections 499 and 500. The sentence has been suspended for a month after an appeal was filed for the same.
The Congress leader has also been granted bail.
The case was filed against Gandhi for his alleged “how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?” remarks on a complaint lodged by Surat BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi. Modi had claimed that Gandhi's remarks "defamed" the entire Modi community.
The Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad made the alleged remarks while addressing a rally at Kolar in Karnataka ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, while referring to Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi and Narendra Modi. "How come they all have common surnames? How come all the thieves have Modi as surnames?"
The case was filed under IPC Sections 499 and 500 (for criminal defamation) on a complaint lodged by BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi.
The court had last week concluded hearing final arguments from both sides and set March 23 to pronounce its judgment in the four-year-old defamation case.