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The Jharkhand High Court on Wednesday exempted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from personally appearing before a special court in Ranchi for hearing a defamation petition related to the ‘Modi surname’ case.
The bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar Dwivedi allowed the Congress MP to be represented through his lawyer on certain conditions. However, the court stated that witnesses examined in his absence will not be re-examined later.
The case is related to a defamation suit for Gandhi’s ‘all Modis are thieves’ comment at a Lok Sabha election rally in Ranchi in 2019. The Congress leader had said, “Sabhi Modi chor hain – Neerav Modi, Lalit Modi, etc.”
The petitioner, Pradeep Modi, had filed a defamation suit for objectionable and derogatory remarks against the Modi community. The petitioner alleged that the remarks hurt sentiments and filed a defamation suit of 20 crores.
Rahul Gandhi had filed a petition before the lower court seeking exemption from appearing, but it was rejected on May 3. The Congress leader then approached the High Court.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court stayed the conviction of Rahul Gandhi in the Modi surname defamation case by a Gujarat court. The court had sentenced Rahul Gandhi to two years in jail, following which he was automatically disqualified from the Lok Sabha as a Member of Parliament.
The top court noted that the trial court did not provide reasons for imposing the maximum sentence.
