Rahul Gandhi asked to appear in Patna court on Apr 26 in ‘Modi’ surname case

A MP-MLA court in Patna on Wednesday asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to physically appear before it on April 25 in a defamation case filed by former Bihar deputy chief minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushil Kumar Modi over his ‘Modi’ surname remark.

A metropolitan court in Gujarat’s Surat on March 23 had sentenced Gandhi to two years in jail after holding him guilty over the same remark following a complaint filed by BJP MLA Purnesh Modi, leading to the former Congress chief’s disqualification from the Lok Sabha.

In a poll rally in Karnataka’s Kolar on April 13, 2019, Gandhi had asked, “How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?”. On April 18 the same year, Sushil Modi lodged a case against him in Patna’s chief judicial magistrate (CJM) court under Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), saying that he was offended by the remark.

Sushil Modi’s counsels SD Sanjay and Priya Gupta said, “Rahul Gandhi had to physically appear before the court today to record his statement under Section 313 of the CRPC but he deliberately did not appear before the court. However, he is engaged in a rally in Kerala. So I prayed to the court to cancel his bail bond on the grounds of non-appearance.”

Gupta said she opposed the petition under Section 317 of the CRPC filed by Gandhi’s advocate. “Taking serious note, the court ordered Rahul’s advocate for a physical appearance before the court on April 25,” she added.

Section 313 envisages the power of the trial court to examine the accused to explain evidence adduced against him. Section 317 says the presence of an accused in a trial or inquiry can be exempted by the judge or Magistrate if the court deems it fit.

Anshul, advocate on behalf of Rahul Gandhi, said that the Wayanad MP did not appear before the court as his date is fixed in a Surat court the next day. A Surat sessions court is slated to hear Gandhi’s plea seeking a stay of his conviction and subsequent sentence on Thursday.

“His legal team is also engaged for tomorrow’s court proceedings in Surat. So I prayed to the court to give a last chance. I told the court that he shall appear before the court on the date fixed by the court and I am also ready to give an undertaking,” he said.

Purnesh Modi has filed his objection in response to Gandhi’s plea for a stay in the Surat sessions court on Tuesday.