Modi surname remarks: Gujarat court sentences Rahul Gandhi to two years in jail

A court in Surat in Gujarat on Thursday sentenced Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to two years in jail in a 2019 criminal defamation case filed against him over his Modi surname remarksThe court of Chief Judicial Magistrate HH Varma which held Gandhi guilty under Indian Penal Code sections 499 and 500 also granted him bail and suspended the sentence for 30 days to allow him to appeal in a higher court the Congress leaders lawyer Babu Mangukiya saidAlso Read Lok Sabha Rule gives me right to speak Rahul Gandhi to speakerAs per the Representation of the People Act a person sentenced to imprisonment of two years or more shall be disqualified from the date of such conviction and remain disqualified for another six years after serving timeGandhi was present in the court when the verdict was pronouncedThe 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 ModiThe Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad made the remarks while addressing a rally at Kolar in Karnataka ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha electionsReacting to the judgment complainant and Surat West Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Purnesh Modi said he welcomed the courts verdictThe final arguments resumed in the case last month after the Gujarat High Court vacated its stay on proceedings imposed on plea by the complainant demanding Gandhis personal appearanceGandhi had last appeared before the Surat court in the case in October 2021 to record his statementBefore that the Congress MP had appeared in the court to plead not guilty to charges levelled against himEarlier in the day state Congress leaders including GPCC president Jagdish Thakor legislature party leader Amit Chavda senior leader Arjun Modhwadia AICC incharge of Gujarat Raghu Sharma were at Surat airport to receive GandhiA huge number of party functionaries had assembled at various spots in the city as a show of strength and support for Gandhi with posters extolling him as ShereHindustan lion of Hindustan and placards declaring that the Congress will not bow before the dictatorship of the BJP on displayThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever