Gujarat court to deliver verdict in 2019 defamation case against Rahul

A court in Surat in Gujarat on Thursday will deliver its verdict in a 2019 criminal defamation case filed against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his "Modi surname" remarks, party leaders said.

The case was filed against Gandhi for his alleged how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname? remarks on a complaint lodged by BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi.

The Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad made the alleged remarks while addressing a rally at Kolar in Karnataka ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The court of Chief Judicial Magistrate HH Varma had last week concluded hearing final arguments from both sides and set March 23 to pronounce its judgment in the four-year-old defamation case, Gandhi's lawyer Kirit Panwala had said.

Gandhi had last appeared before the Surat court in the case, filed under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 and 500 (dealing with defamation), in October 2021 to record his statement.