On Monday, the Gujarat High Court extended its stay of interim in the Surat court’s case against Congress president Rahul Gandhi in the criminal defamation suit that was filed in connection with his claimed “Modi” surname remarks.
The plaintiff in the case, State minister Purnesh Modi sought an order of stay and also a quashing Surat court’s order denying his request that Mr. Gandhi “personally explain contents of the CDs and pen drives and such other electronic records” in connection with his remarks during which he said the alleged comments.
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Justice VM Pancholi posted the hearing until April 8 and stated that the stay granted to interim hearings earlier in the hearing would remain in place.
The criminal defamation lawsuit was brought against Mr. Gandhi for his supposed “Modi” surname remarks during an election rally in Kolar in Karnataka when he campaigned in 2019 at the Lok Sabha polls.
The complainant claimed that Mr. Gandhi’s comments, “how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?” was a slur on the entire Modi community.
A former Congress president was found not guilty of charges in the case in court appearances before Surat court in the year.
The Surat court recorded the defendant’s statement in the case brought by the BJP leader in April of 2019, following the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 and 500 (dealing with defamation).
During the trial, the complainant presented a certified copy of 3 CDs. He requested the court to play in front of Gandhi and permit him to explain the content following the regulations under section 313 CrPC (power to question accused).
In his speech during the gathering in Kolar on the 13th of April 2019, Mr. Gandhi was reported to have asked, “Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, Narendra Modi… how come they all have Modi as the common surname?”
