Ranchi court rejects Rahul’s plea for appearance exemption

The defamation case in Ranchi court was filed by an advocate, Pradip Modi, for Gandhi’s alleged remark that “all Modis are thieves” at an election rally in Ranchi in 2019.

Updated on: May 3, 2023, 21:57:28 IST

By Vishal Kant, Ranchi

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

A special court in Ranchi on Wednesday rejected Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s plea to exempt him from personal appearance in a hearing on the “Modi surname case” in which he was convicted by a Gujarat court in March this year and subsequently disqualified as a member of the Lok Sabha.

The defamation case in Ranchi court was filed by an advocate, Pradip Modi, for Gandhi’s alleged remark that “all Modis are thieves” at an election rally in Ranchi in 2019.

Gandhi’s counsel Pradeep Chandra said the special MP/MLA court rejected their petition for exemption from personal appearance in the case. “The court has fixed May 22 as the next date of hearing in the case. But we will challenge the order in high court before that,” he said.

Earlier, Gandhi had challenged the lower court’s summon in Jharkhand high court, which rejected his quashing petition on July 2, 2022.

Subsequently, the lower court had issued fresh summons to Gandhi.

In effect, if Rahul fails to seek relief from a higher court, he shall have to appear before the lower court.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Vishal Kant
Stationed in Ranchi, Vishal is heading the Jharkhand Bureau of Hindustan Times since November 2017. Besides leading the reporting team, Vishal tracks and writes on developments related to the state politics, economy and policy matters in Jharkhand. Prior to his current assignment, Vishal used to work in New Delhi after graduating from the University of Delhi. Vishal joined HT in the rank of Assistant Editor in August 2015 and was part of the Delhi Metro Bureau, covering a host of issues in the City-state including politics, policy---especially those related to urban traffic & transport infrastructure and railways. A native of Palamu district in Jharkhand, Vishal started his two-decade long career in the mainstream media in 2006. During this period, he has has worked in different capacity with a number of national media houses including the Financial Chronicle, India Today, Deccan Herald and The Hindu, before moving to the Hindustan Times. He holds the experience of having worked in three major mediums of mass communication--Print, Electronic and Digital. He is a proud father of two daughters.Read More

Home/Cities/Ranchi News/Ranchi Court Rejects Rahul’s Plea For Appearance Exemption