Court has issued notice to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for an alleged remark on Modi surname. Rahul Gandhi has to reply to this notice by March 28. In fact, the Gujarat High Court has issued a notice to Rahul on a petition by state BJP minister Purnesh Modi.
In this petition, Purnesh Modi has challenged the order of a Surat court which had dismissed his application in a criminal defamation case against the Congress leader for his 2019 remarks bearing the “Modi surname”.
The complainant had recently challenged the High Court order of February 23 of the Surat court. The Surat court had dismissed the minister’s application directing the accused (Gandhi) to “personally explain the contents of CDs and/or pen drives and/or such other electronic records” relating to his speech. was requested.
Justice V M Pancholi, in an order passed last week, issued notices to the respondents Gandhi and the Gujarat government, to which they are to be replied on March 28. The High Court also granted interim stay on the proceedings in the private criminal defamation case pending before the Surat court, as requested by the complainant.
A BJP minister (then an MLA) had filed a criminal defamation case against Gandhi for his remarks on “Modi surname” by Gandhi while addressing a Lok Sabha election rally in Kolar, Karnataka in 2019.
The complainant said that the Congress MP’s alleged remark, “How is Modi the common surname of all thieves?”, defamed the entire Modi society. Gandhi had not pleaded guilty during his appearance in a Surat court last year.
The court had also recorded the statement of the former Congress president in a case filed by the BJP leader under sections 499 and 500 (dealing with defamation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in April 2019.
During the hearing, the complainant submitted attested copies of three CDs obtained from the District Election Officer and the Collector of Kolar, containing his remarks about the nickname “Modi”.
The complainant Purnesh Modi wanted the Surat court to play the CD in the presence of Gandhi so that he could personally explain his contents as per the provisions of Section 313 of CrPC and to avoid any technical objection in future. The court rejected this request.
The magistrate’s court had also rejected the minister’s request for grant of time to challenge the order in the high court. Purnesh Modi was included in the cabinet of new Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel last year.
During the rally in Kolar, Gandhi had reportedly said, “Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, Narendra Modi…how is it that they all have Modi in their name?”