Patna: A MP/MLA Court in Bihar capital Patna Wednesday deferred the hearing in the defamation case against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in connection with the 'Modi surname' remark till Apr. 25 after the Congress leader could not appear in the court, sources said. Sources said that Rahul Gandhi's advocate moved an application before the court asking to defer the hearing in the case.
It is learnt that the court has accordingly deferred the hearing in the case for next hearing for Apr. 25. If Rahul fails to appear on the said date, his bail bond will be canceled. Meanwhile, the advocate appearing on behalf of BJP leader and MP Sushil Kumar Modi, who has filed the case against Rahul Gandhi, has moved an application urging the court to cancel the bail to Rahul Gandhi in the case.
Also read: Rahul Gandhi to challenge sentence in 'Modi surname' case tomorrow
Rahul was granted bail in the case by the Patna court in the earlier hearing. It can be recalled that Sushil Modi had registered the case against Rahul Gandhi in 2019 for the Congress leaders' election speech in Karnataka the same year. Sushil Modi had accused Rahul Gandhi of making defamatory remarks about Modis calling them “thieves” during the election rally. The BJP leader had also accused Rahul Gandhi of abusing the OBCs with his speech.
Sushil Modi said that he hoped that the court will give “adequate punishment” to Rahul Gandhi for his remarks. Following the defamation complaint, the MP-MLA court in Patna had sent summons under section 317 of CrPC to Rahul and asked him to appear before the court and record his statement. Pertinently, a Surat court in Gujarat has already convicted Rahul and sentenced him to two years in the Modi surname remarks case.
The Congress leader was disqualified as MP the very next day. 25 apr, if he fails bail bond.
