Rahul gets bail in defamation case, next hearing on April 13
Darpan News Desk IANS, 03 Apr, 2023 11:17 AM
Surat, April 3 (IANS) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who was sentenced to two years in prison in a criminal defamation case, was granted bail extension by a sessions court in Gujarat's Surat on Monday. The court will hear his appeal against conviction in the case on April 13.
Earlier, the former president of Congress, arrived in Surat to file the appeal in sessions court against a lower court's order that found him guilty of criminal defamation. The charges stemmed from a remark he made in April 2019 while campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka's Kolar.
The court accepted Gandhi's petition and scheduled it for a hearing on April 13. However, he also faces another deadline to vacate his official residence in New Delhi, which was allotted to him as an MP, by April 22.
During his campaign, Gandhi stated that "all thieves have Modi surname", equating Prime Minister Narendra Modi with fugitives like Lalit Modi and Nirav Modi. On March 23, a lower court in Surat found him guilty of defaming the entire Modi community in a case filed by BJP MLA Purnesh Modi. The former Congress president was subsequently disqualified from the Lok Sabha under a rule that bars convicted MPs from holding Lok Sabha membership.
Gandhi was given the maximum 2-year jail term for his offence, but the sentence was suspended for 30 days for him to file an appeal against the order. If the conviction is not overturned, he will be disqualified from contesting elections for the next eight years.
A spokesperson for the Vigilance Bureau said following investigations of an enquiry a case under the Prevention of the Corruption Act has been registered against Dharamsot. Giving details, he said from March 1, 2016, to March 31, 2022, the income of the former minister and his family was Rs 2,37,12,596 while the expenditure was Rs 8,76,30,888.
The RBI has a Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC) database system where the banks report their exposure of Rs 5 crore and above which is used for monitoring purposes.
A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann here. A spokesperson for the Chief Minister's Office said the new policy would be applicable for five years from October 17, 2022 and will spur industrial development and generate more employment opportunities.
The group has lost $100 billion since the Hindenberg report came out. All the Pradesh Congress Committees have been requested to issue the necessary instructions to the District Congress Committees so that apart from senior leaders, party functionaries and workers, mobilisation from the BCC, Panchayat and Booth level is ensured in full measure.
Addressing a gathering before flagging off a train of pilgrims from here to Varanasi to celebrate the Parkash Purab of Guru Ravidass, the Chief Minister, after taking blessings from head of Dera Ballan Sant Baba Niranjan Dass, said the government is duty bound to ensure the wellbeing of the poor.
SKM said that Union Budget 2023 is silent on the status of minimum support price (MSP) on crops as per recommendation of M.S. Swaminathan Commission and what shall be done to ensure that farmers get legal guarantee of MSP.
