Rahul Gandhi gets bail moments after Surat Court sentenced him to 2 years in jail over 'Modi surname' case

Rahul Gandhi, a Congressman, was charged with criminal defamation after allegedly making a joke about the "Modi surname." Surat District Court found Gandhi guilty. In the criminal defamation action brought against him due to his claimed "Modi surname" statement, the Surat District Court condemned Congress MP Rahul Gandhi to two years in prison. He later received bail from the court, reported ANI. On a bail bond of Rs. 15,000, the leader was granted bail.

Gujarat | Surat District Court holds Congress MP Rahul Gandhi guilty in the criminal defamation case filed against him over his alleged 'Modi surname' remark. pic.twitter.com/VXdrvFAjyK

— ANI (@ANI) March 23, 2023

#WATCH | I'll see the details of the order before I say anything. Whatever Rahul Gandhi speaks it always affects Congress party and the entire nation in a negative way. Some Congress MPs told me that because of his attitude, Congress is suffering: Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju pic.twitter.com/0hmA1sC4Nj

— ANI (@ANI) March 23, 2023

According to a complaint made by BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi, Rahul Gandhi was accused of saying "how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname" in the incident.

Prior to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the complainant alleged that the divisive statement was uttered during a rally in Kolar, Karnataka and that it defamed the whole Modi community.

Top members of the Gujarat branch of the Congress welcomed Mr Gandhi when he arrived in Surat earlier in the day for the verdict.

As a show of strength and support for Mr Gandhi, party members and supporters flocked to various locations throughout the city. Placards proclaiming that the "Congress will not bow before the dictatorship of the BJP" and posters praising him as "Sher-e-Hindustan" (the Lion of India) were on display.

According to Mr Gandhi's attorney Kirit Panwala, the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate HH Varma had last week ended hearing concluding arguments from both parties and declared that it was prepared to issue its ruling in the four-year-old defamation case.

In order to record his statement, Rahul Gandhi last came before the Surat court in October 2021.

In his complaint, BJP MLA Purnesh Modi said that Rahul Gandhi had disparaged the entire Modi community while speaking at the 2019 election rally.