‘Modi surname’ case: Rahul gets relief as Patna HC stays trial proceedings

The Patna High Court on Monday (April 24) stayed the proceedings before a trial court in Patna, Bihar against former Congress president Rahul Gandhi in connection with his alleged slanderous remarks against those having “Modi surname”.

Justice Sandeep Kumar stayed the proceedings while hearing a petition of Rahul, who has contended that since he has already been convicted in a similar case by a Gujarat court, he cannot be put on trial for the same offence again.

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“The high court has stayed trial proceedings till May 15, the date on which we will be submitting our reply to the petition,” said SD Sanjay, the counsel for former Bihar deputy chief minister and senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi.

Sushil had filed a defamation suit against Rahul a few days after the latter gave a speech at an election rally in Karnataka, during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

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Notably, the MP/MLA court in Patna had, vide a recent order, asked Rahul to appear in connection with the petition on April 25.

The Congress leader has been awarded two years in prison by a court in Surat, Gujarat where BJP MLA Purnesh Modi had sued him for defamation for having made the snide remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, fugitive defaulter Nirav Modi and former Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner Lalit Modi.

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The sentence awarded by the Surat court has also led to the disqualification of Rahul as an MP. He represented Kerala’s Wayanad seat in the Lok Sabha.

(With agency inputs)