Rahul Gandhi, a Congress member, was found guilty of defamation in a 2019 case by a Surat court on Thursday and given a two-year prison term. Gandhi was granted bail with a bond of Rs 15,000 by the court, and the punishment was suspended for 30 days so that he could file an appeal.

What was the case?

The allegations Gandhi made on April 13, 2019, at a Lok Sabha election rally in Kolar, Karnataka, where he allegedly said, “Why do all the thieves have Modi in their names, whether it be Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, or Narendra Modi?” are the subject of the lawsuit brought forth by former Gujarat minister and BJP MLA Purnesh Modi from Surat West.

H H Verma, Chief Judicial Magistrate, issued the directive. Gandhi and several other national and state Congress leaders were in the courtroom on Thursday afternoon. To avoid unfavourable events, the Surat police tightened security measures on the court grounds.

What did officials say about it in 2019?

“Some of our arguments were not taken into account in the court’s decision, so we are not satisfied with the ruling,” we said. We brought up the fact that there is no community called Modi and that the complaint is not a Modi because his last name was originally Bhootwala and was later changed to Modi. In the upcoming days, higher courts will hear our cases, defence attorney Kirit Panwala stated.

A respond by complainters

Ketan Reshamwala, the attorney for the prosecution, and MLA Purnesh Modi declared that they were “satisfied with the court order.” The BJP MLA said “I belong to the Modhwanik Ghanchi group, which carries the Modi surname. Our feelings were injured by Rahul Gandhi’s slanderous remarks, and we have filed a complaint as a result. We are happy with the court’s order as of right now. Outside the courtroom, the MLA’s supporters chanted chants in his favour.