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.
Also on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on the occasion of Parakram Jayanti and said: "Today, on Parakram Diwas, I pay homage to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and recall his unparalleled contribution to India's history."
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A video showing the woman's ordeal has gone viral on social media in which she is seen lying on the ground in a public place. The incident took place on Thursday and the woman, identified as Kalpana, was "turned back without check-up".
The Chief Minister, while interacting with the media after reviewing the progress of development projects worth Rs 167 crore in the city, said it is ironic that the Maharajas in power were more concerned about their own development rather than that of the city. He said though Patiala was known as 'City of Gardens' but due to apathy of those in power, the city lost its shine in the last few years.
