Rahul Gandhi Sentenced To Two Years In Jail By Surat Court In 2019 'Modi Surname' Criminal Defamation Case

A district court in Surat on Thursday (23 March) held Congress leader Rahul Gandhi guilty in a 2019 criminal defamation case filed against him over his "Modi surname" remark.

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.

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.

(With inputs from PTI)