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Patna court summons Rahul Gandhi on 25 April over ‘Modi’ surname remark

The defamation case in the MP/MLA court was filed by the BJP's Rajya Sabha member and former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi.

ByPTI

Published Apr 12, 2023 | 5:42 PM ⚊ Updated Apr 12, 2023 | 5:42 PM

Rahul Gandhi speaking at an event. (Screengrab)

A court in Bihar’s capital Patna has asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to appear before it on 25 April in a defamation suit filed over his purported remark on the Modi surname.

Earlier, he was disqualified from the Lok Sabha as a representative from the Wayanad constituency in Kerala after a Gujarat court convicted him in a criminal defamation case and sentenced him to two years in prison.

The defamation case in the MP/MLA court in Patna was filed by the BJP’s Rajya Sabha member and former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi.

The MP/MLA court of Special Judicial Magistrate Aadi Dev passed an order on 18 March asking Gandhi to appear before it on 12 April.

Also read: ‘Nobody can stop me from representing people of Wayanad’

Another date sought

However, during a hearing on Wednesday, 12 April, the defence counsel sought another date stating that the entire team was busy with the Surat case, in which Gandhi was sentenced to two years in prison and disqualified from the Lok Sabha.

To this, the judge asked Gandhi’s counsel to ensure his physical appearance before the court on the next date of hearing in the case on 25 April.

Prosecution lawyer Priya Gupta told reporters that statements from the complainant’s side have been recorded and all evidence submitted to the court and now only the statement of Gandhi is to be recorded.

A Surat court had recently convicted Gandhi over the purported remark and he was later disqualified as an MP from Lok Sabha.

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