- Thursday, April 25, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
Indian National Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was on Thursday found guilty in a four-year-old defamation case and sentenced to two years in prison. A court in Surat in the western Indian state of Gujarat gave the verdict over remarks that Gandhi allegedly made targeting the surname of prime minister Narendra Modi at an election rally in the southern state of Karnataka during the 2019 general elections.
The court also gave the parliamentarian bail for 30 days to allow him to appeal the decision in a higher court.
Gandhi allegedly made the controversial remark: “How come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?” at a rally in Kolar in Karnataka in April 2019, apparently targeting the prime minister.
Soon after, a case was registered over the matter by BJP lawmaker from Gujarat Purnesh Modi, also a former minister of the state, who accused Gandhi of defaming the entire Modi community.
The hearing of the final arguments on both sides came to an end last week with March 23 set for the date of the verdict. Gandhi had earlier visited the court in Surat in October 2021 to record his statement.
The 52-year-old leader, who recently attacked the Modi government on foreign soil, was sentenced under sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code that deal with criminal defamation, his lawyer Babu Mangukiya said.
