Surat court issues summons to Rahul Gandhi in criminal defamation case

Surat: The chief judicial magistrate of Surat on Thursday ordered registration of a criminal defamation case against Congress president Rahul Gandhi and also issued summons to him on a complaint filed in April by Surat West BJP MLA Purnesh Modi.
The court in its order said there were enough and reasonable reasons to initiate criminal proceedings against the accused and added that the summons be issued through the speaker of Lok Sabha as he was a sitting Member of Parliament. The court issued the summons to Rahul Gandhi under section 204 of the criminal procedure code on the request of complainant’s lawyer Hasmukh Lalwala.
“The court issued the summons after ordering registration of the criminal defamation case. The next date of hearing in the case is June 7. The accused has been asked to remain present in the next hearing. The summons to the accused will be served through speaker of Lok Sabha as he is currently an MP,” Lalwala told TOI.
Purnesh Modi had on April 8 filed a criminal defamation complaint in the court under Indian Penal Code sections 499 and 500 through lawyer Lalwala. The court registered statement of the complainant in one of the two hearings held after submission of his application and on Thursday issued the summons to Rahul Gandhi.
“I belong to Modi community. I and around 13 crore members of Modi community living in various parts of the country felt insulted when Rahul Gandhi in a rally said, ‘How come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?’ You cannot and should not insult an entire community,” Purnesh Modi said.