Modi surname case: Ranchi court rejects Rahul Gandhi’s plea for exemption from personal appearance

• Jharkhand’s MP/MLA court on Wednesday rejected Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s petition for exemption from personal appearance in ‘Modi Surname case’
• Meanwhile, the Gujarat High Court on Tuesday also refused to grant relief to Gandhi. In his petition, Gandhi asked for a stay of conviction in a 2019 criminal defamation case over his “Modi surname” remark
• The court asserted it will pass the final order after the summer vacation which ends in early June, no protection can be given to Gandhi, till then. 

Jharkhand’s MP/MLA court on Wednesday rejected Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s petition for exemption from personal appearance in ‘Modi Surname case’.

Meanwhile, the Gujarat High Court on Tuesday also refused to grant relief to Gandhi. In his petition, Gandhi asked for a stay of conviction in a 2019 criminal defamation case over his “Modi surname” remark.

The court asserted it will pass the final order after the summer vacation which ends in early June, no protection can be given to Gandhi, till then. 

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhwi who was representing Gandhi during the final submissions said there is an “extreme urgency” for the interim relief or a final order. Singhwi highlighted his client was a first-time offender and said this was the first time in Criminal defamation case when an accused was sentenced to more than 3 to 6 months in jail, as per reports.

The plaintiff’s lawyer opposing Gandhi’s Advocate appeal said if Gandhi can’t apologise for his remarks then he should not reach the court for stay of the conviction. Justice Hemant Prachchhak after listening to arguments of both sides said no interim protection can be granted to the applicant at this stage in the defamation case.

Gandhi had earlier prayed in the High Court for stay of conviction. If stay is granted to Gandhi it can help Gandhi to restore his position as a Member of Parliament. A “criminal defamation case” was earlier filed by a BJP MLA against the Congress leader.

MLA Purnesh “Modi” filed the case against Gandhi over his “How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?” remark. Gandhi had made the remarks during an election rally at Kolar in Karnataka on April 13, 2019.