2019 defamation case: Patna court summons Rahul to appear on Apr 12

The case pertains to a remark the former Congress president allegedly made on April 13, 2019, during the campaign for Lok Sabha elections at Kolar in Karnataka. “Why all thieves have surname of Modi,” he had allegedly said while referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with fugitives Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi.

PATNA: A special court in Patna has summoned Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to record his statement on April 12 in a defamation case filed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushil Kumar Modi over his “Modi surname” remark, a lawyer associated with the case said on Thursday.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi (REUTERS)

“The process of recording statements of witnesses has closed now. The court has fixed April 12 as date for appearance of Rahul Gandhi for his statement,” the BJP Rajya Sabha member’s counsel SD Sanjay told HT.

The former Bihar deputy chief minister had filed the case on April 18, 2019 and Gandhi was granted bail months later on July 6.

The case pertains to a remark the former Congress president allegedly made on April 13, 2019, during the campaign for Lok Sabha elections at Kolar in Karnataka. “Why all thieves have surname of Modi,” he had allegedly said while referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with fugitives Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi.

Besides Sushil Kumar Modi, former minister and Bankipur MLA Nitin Navin and Digha MLA Sanjiv Chaurasia have already recorded their statements as witnesses in the court.

On March 23, a court in Gujarat’s Surat had convicted Rahul Gandhi in a similar case and sentenced him to two years’ imprisonment, leading to his disqualification as a member of Parliament a day later. Gandhi represented Wayanad constituency in Kerala in the Lok Sabha.