Rahul Gandhi convicted in 'Modi surname' defamation case, granted bail

Surat, March 23 (IANS) A Surat district court in Gujarat on Thursday convicted Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in a criminal defamation case against him over his alleged 'Modi surname' remark in 2019.

Gandhi was convicted under Indian Penal Code sections 499 and 500. The maximum possible punishment under this section is two years.

However, the lawyer representing Gandhi said that the punishment of two years was reduced to 30 days and a bail has been granted, while allowing the right to appeal.

BJP MLA and former Gujarat Minister Purnesh Modi had filed the case against Rahul Gandhi for his alleged "how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?" remarks.

The complainant claimed that the controversial remark was made at a rally at Kolar in Karnataka ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections which defamed the entire Modi community.

The court's Chief Judicial Magistrate H.H. Varma last week had concluded hearing the final arguments from both sides and set March 23 to pronounce its judgment.