'Issue Arrest Warrant Against Rahul Gandhi For His Failure To Appear In Defamation Case': Sushil Modi's Plea In Patna Court

An application has been moved today before the Patna Court by Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Kumar Modi for the issuance of an arrest warrant against Congres leader Rahul Gandhi for his failure to appear in Court in the defamation case filed by Modi.

The application was moved today after Gandhi failed to appear before Court pursuant to Court's March 18 order directing him to appear on April 12 to record his statements under section 313 CrPC in the Defamation case.

For the uninitiated, MP Modi filed a criminal complaint (through Senior Advocate and former Add. Solicitor General of India SD Sanjay) against Gandhi in 2019 under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code (Defamation) over his alleged remark “why all thieves share the Modi surname” made during a political campaign in Karol in April 2019. It is Modi's case that it was a derogatory remark targetting people having the 'Modi' surname. Gandhi obtained bail in the case in the year 2019.

On Behalf of Sushil Modi, several witnesses have already appeared in the court and have recorded their statements including the then road construction minister in Bihar Government Nitin Nabin, president of BJYM Bihar Manish Kumar, senior advocate SD Sanjay, Senior Advocate Subodh Jha, Advocate Arjun Kumar, and Advocate Ratnesh Kumar.

Last month, the Court had directed him to appear before it today (April 12), however, today his counsel informed the Court that Gandhi be given some more time by the Court to appear and record his statements in the case.

Opposing this request, Modi's counsels submitted before the Court that Gandhi had disregarded Court's order to prolong the case proceedings and therefore, his bail be canceled and an arrest warrant be issued.

On March 23, a court in Surat in Gujarat convicted Gandhi in a similar defamation case filed against him over this very statement, following which, he was disqualified as an MP of the Lok Sabha.