Modi surname case explained: Why Rahul Gandhi sentenced to 2 years in jail?

Indian congress MP Rahul Gandhi has been found guilty by a Surat court in the 2019 criminal defamation case which was filed against him over his controversial "Modi surname" comment.

The court sentenced Gandhi to two years in prison, however, he was instantly granted bail, reports Indian media.

According to the reports, Gandhi took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi by commenting, "How come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?".

The comments were made at a rally in Karnataka's Kolar.

Following the remarks, former Gujarat minister and BJP MLA Purnesh Modi lodged a complaint against the Congress stalwart.

Modi was a minister in the Gujarat government when Bhupendra Patel was the chief minister of the state.

Last December, he was re-elected from the Surat West Assembly constituency, according to recent reports.

Modi had alleged in his complaint that Gandhi defamed the entire Modi community with his remark.

Rahul Gandhi, booked under sections 499 and 500 (defamation), last appeared before the Surat court in October 2021 to record his statement.

The final arguments from both sides were heard last week and the date for the declaration of the verdict was set on 23 March.

Senior Congress leader and MLA Ajun Modhwadia claimed the BJP foisted false cases against Gandhi.

During the trial, Rahul Gandhi's lawyer had argued that the right procedure laid down under section 202 of the Code of Criminal Procedure was not followed and the proceedings were flawed.

His lawyer had also argued that it should have been Prime Minister Narendra Modi, not Purnesh Modi, to have filed the complaint as the speech was aimed against him.

Chief Judicial Magistrate HH Varma suspended his sentence for 30 days so that he could appeal against the verdict in a higher court.

Rahul Gandhi was present in the courtroom when the verdict was announced.