Jharkhand High Court Orders No Coercive Action Against Rahul Gandhi In Modi Surname Defamation Case

The Jharkhand High Court on Tuesday (4 July) issued an order stating that no coercive action should be taken against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

The hearing was of a defamation case related to Gandhi's Modi surname remark made during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The next hearing for the case is scheduled for 16 August.

The defamation case was filed by advocate Pradeep Modi from Ranchi, who objected to Rahul Gandhi's comment that was perceived as being "against the Modi community." The case sought Rs 20 crore in damages.

Rahul Gandhi's legal counsel had previously filed a criminal writ petition in the Jharkhand High Court to excuse him from personal appearance in the defamation case pending in an MP-MLA court in Ranchi. However, this petition had already been rejected by the MP-MLA court.

In March of this year, a Surat court in Gujarat convicted Rahul Gandhi in a separate criminal defamation case related to the same matter and sentenced him to two years. Consequently, he was disqualified as a Lok Sabha MP following the court's judgment.