A sessions court in Gujarat’s Surat on Thursday reserved its order on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s plea against his conviction in the Modi surname criminal defamation case. The next hearing of the former Wayanad MP’s plea is now scheduled to be held on April 20 when the court will pronounce its verdict.

Additional Sessions Judge RP Mogera heard arguments from both sides and decided to hold the order till next hearing on April 20.

Earlier, Rahul Gandhi’s counsel told the sessions court that the trial Modi surname” remark was “not fair” and there was no need for maximum punishment in the case.

Senior advocate R S Cheema, the counsel for the Gandhi scion, told the judge that the trial was not “fair” and the judgement by the magistrate was “strange” because the trial court judge “made a hotchpotch of all the evidence on record”.

Read Also: BJP worker arrested for waving Nathuram Godse’s picture during Hyderabad Ram Navami rally: Police

Arguing on behalf of Rahul Gandhi, who wasn’t physically present in the court for the hearing, advocate Cheema said that the entire case was based on electronic evidence wherein I (Gandhi), delivered a speech during elections and a man sitting hundreds of kilometers away watched it on the news and filed a complaint.

There wasn’t any need for maximum punishment in such case, he said.

Rahul Gandhi had filed a plea in the Surat sessions court seeking a stay on his conviction in a criminal defamation case over the 2019 “Modi surname” remark.

On March 23, a magistrate court in Surat convicted the Congress leader in the criminal defamation case and sentenced him to two years in jail. The conviction led to his disqualification from the Lok Sabha.

The disqualification which will prevent 52-year-old Gandhi, a four-time MP, from contesting elections for eight years unless a higher court stays the conviction, has kicked up a political storm with the Congress staging a countrywide satyagraha last month to protest the decision.

ED registers case against BBC India under FEMA for foreign exchange violations

41 Jharkhand BJP members, including former CMs, Union Minister, booked for violating prohibitory orders

A Sri Lankan and a German citizen were arrested at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport after they flew to different countries by swapping their boarding passes, the Mumbai Police said on Thursday.

A senior official said that on Monday, the two men allegedly swapped boarding passes in a toilet at the airport and travelled each other’s destination—London and Kathmandu.

He said that the accused, a 22-year-old man from Sri Lanka who was travelling on a fake passport, exchanged his boarding pass with a 36-year-old German citizen, and the duo then travelled to London and Kathmandu, respectively.

However, on reaching London in the United Kingdom, an airline attendant suspected the departure stamp on the Sri Lankan man’s passport appeared to be forged as the departure stamp number on the passport was different from the stamp number on his boarding pass.

Read Also: Land-for-jobs scam: ED questions Lalu Yadav’s daughter Chanda Yadav

The airline staffer then reported him to the authorities and the Sri Lanka native was forced to reveal his original identity, following which he was deported to Mumbai where he was arrested by the police on arrival.

An official of the Mumbai Police said that during questioning, the Sri Lankan citizen told the police that he wanted to go to the UK to pursue a better career opportunity.

The official said that the German citizen who had swapped his boarding pass with the Sri Lankan man, was also arrested and during interrogation, it was revealed that the two men had stayed in a luxurious hotel near Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport on April 9 where they had hatched a conspiracy to exchange boarding passes.

The official further said that the two foreign citizens have been arrested and case registered against them under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy, adding that its being probed if more people are involved in the conspiracy.

BJP worker arrested for waving Nathuram Godse’s picture during Hyderabad Ram Navami rally: Police

Umesh Pal murder case: Gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad’s son Asad killed in encounter with UP Police

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday questioned the former Union Railway Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav’s daughter Chanda Yadav in connection with the alleged land-for-jobs scam.

The central probe agency has been questioning the children of Lalu Prasad Yadav in the ongoing money laundering case. Her statements were recorded by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Chanda Yadav’s questioning comes a day after it recorded the statement of Lalu’s other daughter Ragini Yadav. This is the third consecutive day when Lalu Yadav’s third child is being questioned by the ED officials in the case.

Earlier on Tuesday, Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar and former Bihar Chief Minister’s son Tejashwi Yadav was also questioned for almost eight hours in connection with the case. Last month, Lalu’s eldest daughter Misa Bharti was also interrogated by the central probe agency.

The Yadav family is being interrogated by the ED for their alleged involvement in a scam wherein they demanded land in exchange for government jobs during the time when Lalu Yadav served as the Union Minister for Railways.

Read Also: BJP worker arrested for waving Nathuram Godse’s picture during Hyderabad Ram Navami rally: Police

According to the reports, the ED claimed unaccounted cash of Rs 1 crore, $1,900, 540 gms gold and 1.5 kg of gold jewellery and other incriminating documents were recovered during the raids conducted at 24 locations in Delhi, Mumbai, Patna, and in Ranchi based on specific intelligence inputs.

The ED also said that they had detected around Rs 600 crore in proceeds of crime which were in the form of immovable properties of Rs 350 crore and transactions of Rs 250 crore routed through various benamidaars.

The agencies state that from 2004 to 2009, various people were appointed to Group D positions within different Indian Railways zones, and in exchange, transferred their land to Lalu Prasad’s family members and A K Infosystems Pvt Ltd, a beneficiary company in this case.

According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the candidates reportedly sold land to Prasad’s family members at steep discounts that ranged from one-fourth to one-fifth of the actual market values.

Chhattisgarh: Right-wing groups pledge economic boycott of Muslims, Christians in aftermath of Bemetara communal violence | WATCH

41 Jharkhand BJP members, including former CMs, Union Minister, booked for violating prohibitory orders