Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has moved the Patna High Court and sought a quashing of the summons issued by a Patna Court in a defamation case filed by Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) leader Sushil Kumar Modi over Gandhi's alleged 'Modi surname remark' made in 2019.
The case was mentioned before Justice Sandeep Kumar who has agreed to hear it on 24 April, Dainik Jagran reported.
Seven days after a Gujarat court convicted Rahul Gandhi for defamation over his “Modi surname” remark, a Patna court, on 30 March, summoned him on 12 April over the same remark.
However, Gandhi did not appear on the given date and his lawyer requested for more time. The court then asked him to appear physically before it on 25 April.
And now, Gandhi has moved the High Court against these summons on the grounds that this case leads to what is legally called “double jeopardy.”
The Quint had in a previous piece, reported on why the Patna case against Gandhi is legally unsound and explained what double jeopardy is.
More details? The Patna case dates back to April 2019, when BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP from Bihar Sushil Kumar Modi had filed a criminal defamation complaint (under IPC Section 500, according to Congress sources) against Gandhi for reportedly saying:
“Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, Narendra Modi. How come all the thieves have 'Modi' as a common surname?"
After Gandhi surrendered in the Patna MLA/MLC court, he was granted bail in the case in July 2019.
"Gandhi and his party believe in dynasty politics and cannot bear the sight of an OBC, Narendra Modi, in the Prime Minister's chair. They, therefore, routinely engage in slander. Only the judiciary can effectively check this tendency," Sushil Modi said on 30 March in a video statement.
Quick recap: Besides the court in Patna, a court in Surat on 23 March had sentenced Gandhi to two years in jail under IPC Sections 499 (defamation) and 500 (punishment for defamation). He was then granted bail to enable him to move an appeal against his conviction within 30 days.
The very next day (24 March), the embattled leader was disqualified from the Lok Sabha as an MP. He was also asked to vacate his government-allotted bungalow, following the disqualification.
Gandhi had filed a plea seeking a stay on his conviction but the Surat court rejected that on Thursday, 20 April.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)