Rahul gets bail in defamation case; hearing in Surat court on April 13

The 52-year-old Congress leader reached Surat in the afternoon via a scheduled commercial flight along with sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and proceeded to the sessions court

A sessions court in Gujarat's Surat city on Monday granted bail to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi after he filed an appeal against his conviction in a criminal defamation case over his 2019 "Modi surname" remark in which he has been sentenced to two years in jail, a lawyer said.
 The court of Additional Sessions Judge R P Mogera said it will hear his plea for suspension of conviction on April 13 after issuing a notice to complainant Purnesh Modi, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA and former Gujarat cabinet minister.

The sessions court asked the respondent (Purnesh Modi) to file his reply by April 10.

 "We had filed an application for Rahul Gandhi's bail and suspension of sentence along with his appeal against conviction by a lower court. The (sessions) court heard the matter and granted him bail. The court kept the matter for hearing on the stay of his conviction for April 13," a member of his legal team told reporters.

 

 

Rahul Gandhi, who arrived in Surat earlier in the day, will not be required to appear in the court during the hearing of the case, he said.
 

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other party leaders were present in the courtroom when the matter came up for hearing at around